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SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 



Stories of Discovery 

As told by Discoverers 



By 

Edward E. Hale 



New edition.^ revised^ 'laith illustrations 



Boston 

Little, Brown, and Company 

1905 



OCT 19 1904 

CfLASS O. XXq. No. 



.v\^ 



Copyright, 1S82, 
By Roberts Brothers. 

'^ Copyright, 1904y 
By LiTTLfe,' Brown, and Company. 



UNIVERSITY PRESS 
CAMBRIDGE. U.S.A. 



PREFACE. 



Some years ago a convention of librarians was held in 
Boston. The subject of the reading most in the hands 
of young people was discussed, in the most practical 
way, by many of those persons who see, face to face, 
the young readers who come to Public Libraries, and 
who have to give to them the books they ask for. 

The judgment of these gentlemen and ladies, who 
have every opportunity of forming a true opinion, is 
unanimous on one point. Boys and girls, of average 
intelligence, can be made to take a real interest in the 
reading of the best books, if those books are entertain- 
ing, and if the way be made easy. But we ask too 
much of the librarian, who is, perhaps, overseeing the 
delivery of one book every ten seconds, if we expect 
him to do everything in guiding the taste of the young 
readers who apply for another book, interesting and 
new. 

In this discussion I suggested the preparation of 
books for young people which should show the 



IV PREFACE, 

"plums " in the standard volumes. The word "plums" 
hardly needs explanation. Readers of half a century 
ago will remember Lucy^s view of " plums." 

"But his mother managed their pleasures so that 
they not only lasted the longer, but were relished the 
more keenly, not swallowed without being tasted. Lucy 
had this art yet to learn. 

" * Mother,' said she, ^ I think you are too careful not 
to tire him with reading; I think he cannot have too 
much entertainment. It is only the stupid parts of 
books that tire one. All that is necessary is to pick 
out the plums, and to have a variety.' 

" ^ He would, I think, be soon tired of plums, my 
dear,' said her mother, ' and a great variety would 
weary him still more.' 

" * Well, mother,' whispered Lucy, ^ will you let us 
try the experiment? I should like to see whether he 
could be tired of plums. I will pick out what I know 
he likes best, and never give him too much of one thing 
at a time. You will see, mother.' 

"*Try, my dear, and you will see,' said her mother." 

With many thanks to kind advisers who express the 
wish that I had written all the stories myself, I have 
only to say that the precise object of the series would 
thus have been avoided. The object is to arouse in 
young readers an interest in the wide range of narra- 
tive literature open to them in their own language, for 
the centuries since that language was born. 

EDWARD E. HALE. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

I. Introduction 7 

The First Voyage of Columbus, lo. A New 
Route, 24. Uncle Fritz's Letter, 29. 

II. Da Gama and the East 34 

Da Gama's Discovery of the East Indies, 38. 
The Voyage of Vasco da Gama, 46. 

III. Magalhaens and the Pacific 59 

Navigation and Voyage which Fernando de Ma- 
gelhaes made from Seville to Maluco in the 
year 1519, 62. The Death of Magellan and the 
Voyage Home, 73. 

IV. Sir Francis Drake ......... 86 

The World encompassed by Sir Francis Drake, 
carefully collected out of the Notes of Master 
Francis Fletcher, Preacher in this Imploy- 
ment, 87. Drake's Voyage in the Pacific, 91. 
The Story of Nuno da Silva, 100. 

V. The Atlantic Coast 107 

The Verrazzano Letter, 108. The Return of Sir 
Humfrey Gilbert, August, 1583, 120. Bartho- 
lomew GosnoU and Martha's Vineyard, 127. 
The First Settlement at Jamestown, 131. Cap- 
tain John Smith and Pocahontas, 136. 



VI CONTENTS. 

VI. Voyages in the Pacific 145 

An Encounter with the Islanders, in Captain 
Carteret's Voyage, 149. Matavai, 152. A 
Landing in New Zealand, 156. A Landing in 
New South Wales, Botany Bay, 161. 

Vn. The Northwest Passage 167 

From Parry's Voyage of 1819, 169. Discovery 
of Prince Regent's Inlet, 174. Working West- 
ward, 174. Melville Islands, 178. Winter Har- 
bor, 184. 



VIII. The Source of the Nile 



Bruce's Difficulty at the Start, 191. The Victoria 
Nyanza, 194. 

IX. The Mouth of the Niger 202 

The King of Youriba, 206. A Pantomime, 216. 
King Yarro, 220. 

X. West of the Mississippi 221 

Trappers' Life, 223. A Herd of Buffalo, 227. A 
Good Run, 228. They run a Canon, 232. The 
Salt Lake, 238. Captain Marcy, 245. Water ! 
Water ! 245. The Cavern, Head of Red River, 
246. Buffalo Chase, 248. A House of the 
Aztecs, 250. Casa Montezuma, 251. Writings 
on Stone, 254. A False Alarm, 255. Wild 
Horses, 258. 

XL The Antarctic Continent 260 

The Antarctic Archipelago, 262. Appearances 
of Land, 266. A Mountain Range, 269. Icy 
Cliffs, 271. Cape Carr, 272. A Landing Ef- 
fected, 273. A Deep Bay, 276. More Pieces 
of Land, 277. D'Urville's Discovery, 278. 
Captain James Ross's Narrative, 280. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page 

Sir Francis Drake Frontispiece 

Columbus Parting with Ferdinand and Isabella . . lo ' 

Columbus on the Deck of his Caravel i8 

Ship of Columbus's Time 22 

Columbus at Hispaniola 26 ' 

Columbus at the Convent of Rabida 30 . 

Vasco da Gama and the Town of Calicut 34^ 

Ferdinand Magellan 60 

Giovanni Verrazzano 108 

Captain John Smith 131 

Pocahontas Pleading for the Life of John Smith . . 143 ^ 

Captain Cook Attacked by Natives 157 ^ 

H. M. S. Hecla and Griper in Winter Harbor . . . 186 -" 

James Bruce 192 -' 

The Meeting of Captain Clapperton with the King of 

Youriba 206 

Moving Camp • . 246 



STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 



INTRODUCTION. 

IT is now some years since Colonel Ingham has assem- 
bled around him, once a week, a party of boys and 
girls who call him "Uncle Fritz." He is an amiable 
old gentleman, who has lived almost everywhere in the 
world ; but he has at last come to an anchorage in 
what is known as the old Lady Oliver house, at Jamaica 
Plain, near Boston. The young people do much as they 
please with Colonel Ingham ; and, as he does much as 
he pleases with them, this is all fair. Last winter, the 
custom was that they came out every Saturday after- 
noon for a long afternoon's talk, and for a dance or 
other frolic in the evening. Of the dancing, alas, there 
is no record, by instantaneous photograph or otherwise ; 
but the afternoons followed a certain regular fashion, 
like that which has been recorded in other books of 
this series.^ At the last meeting the young people had 
in their first season, they agreed that their next winter's 
reading with Uncle Fritz should be of voyages and other 
expeditions of discovery. Thus, as the next winter 
passed they collected the material for this volume, — 
"Stories of Discovery, told by Discoverers." 

1 " Stories of War, told by Soldiers." " Stories of the Sea, told by 
Sailors." " Stories of Adventure, told by Adventurers." 



8 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

They came out one bleak afternoon — the first after 
it proved impossible to go with Uncle Fritz to the Mid- 
dlesex Fells, which was one of their favorite autumn 
rambles — in rather fuller force than usual. They found 
that he had on the table Irving's " Columbus," Prescott's 
"Ferdinand and Isabella,'^ Navarrete's "Voyages of Co- 
lumbus," Kettelle's translation of this into English, and 
another translation into French, and Robinson's " Amer- 
ica." Pinned against Lady Oliver's big screen were two 
or three maps ; among them a chart of the Atlantic and 
a large map of the West Indies. 

The older boys and girls looked at the volumes of 
Navarrete a little sadly. It was dear Laura who had 
translated from Navarrete so prettily and carefully for 
the " Stories of the Sea," and dear Laura would never 
translate for them again. The Colonel knew what 
they thought ; he kissed Marian, and said, " It will 
please her, where she is now, if you will do it as kindly 
and as faithfully as she did when she was here." And 
Marian kissed him again, and said she would try. 

The boys turned over the books together, and the 
older boys showed the new ones what parts of Navar- 
rete were translated in the " Stories of the Sea." Navar- 
rete is a Spanish editor of learning and skill, who about 
fifty or sixty years ago edited very carefully the original 
journals of Columbus, which by great good fortune are 
preserved in Spain ; not, I think, in the original manu- 
scripts, but in perfectly authentic copies. 

" I used to think," said Hubert, " that Columbus and 
Captain Cook and Captain Parry were the only people 
who discovered anything in the world. Then I was told 
that Captain Wilkes discovered the Antarctic Conti- 
nent. But I always wondered who discovered Africa 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

and who discovered Europe. I suppose Adam dis- 
covered Asia." 

"Well," said Blanche, "we know that that pretty 
Philistine girl discovered Europe, riding on the back of 
the bull." 

" Dear Blanche," said Bedford, " that is what is now 
called a sun-myth. It means that a Philistine cockney 
girl who had a Cook's tourist ticket took passage on the 
P. and O. steamer 'John Bull,' from Tyre to Cyprus." 

They all laughed at this, and Philip said : " Here is 
Jack ; he discovered the source of Mink Brook. It rises 
in a swamp just south of the minister's reservation in 
South Kingston. Jack lost his dinner and one of his 
boots in the discovery." 

" Well ! " said Hubert, who is a new boy, and does not 
quite understand their rattle, "that exactly illustrates 
what I mean. Jack knew that Mink Brook had its source 
somewhere. What he did, was to find exactly where a 
thing was which he knew to exist, as I might discover 
my jack-knife in my Sunday-jacket pocket. But Colum- 
bus and Captain Cook discovered something that they 
did not know the existence of before." 

"So did Captain Heard," said Will, "when he dis- 
covered Heard's Island." 

Colonel Ingham told them all that Hubert's distinc- 
tion was legitimate ; and that, alas, we have very few 
things left to discover in our world as Columbus dis- 
covered America. There are very few continents, and 
we certainly know the biggest now. The last absolutely 
first-rate discovery was that made by Mr. Asaph Hall 
when he discovered the two moons of Mars. If either 
of them had been half as big as Australia, it w^ould have 
been discovered long ago. 



lb STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

After this talk the children fell to reading some of 
the passages which Uncle Fritz had marked in Kettelle's 
translation of Navarrete. 



THE FIRST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS. 

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ : Whereas, Most 
Christian, High, Excellent, and Powerful Princes, King 
and Queen of Spain and of the Islands of the Sea, our 
Sovereigns, this present year 1492, after your High- 
nesses had terminated the war with the Moors reigning in 
Europe, the same having been brought to an end in the 
great cit}' of Granada, where on the second day of Jan- 
uary, this present year, I saw the royal banners of your 
Highnesses planted by force of arms upon the towers of 
the Alhambra, which is the fortress of the city, and saw 
the Moorish king come out at the gate of the city and 
kiss the hands of your Highnesses, and of the Prince my 
Sovereign ; and in the present month, in consequence 
of the information which I had given your Highnesses 
respecting the countries of India, and of a prince called 
Great Can, which in our language signifies King of Kings, 
how at many times he and his predecessors had sent to 
Rome soliciting instructors who might teach him our 
holy faith, and the Holy Father had never granted his 
request, whereby great numbers of the people were lost, 
believing in idolatry and doctrines of perdition ; your 
Highnesses, as Catholic Christians, and princes who 
love and promote the holy Christian faith, and are ene- 
mies of the doctrine of Mahomet, and all idolatry and 
hereay, determined to send me, Christopher Columbus, 
to the above-mentioned countries of India, to see the 
said princes, people, and territories, and to learn their 







3 

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P5 
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P4 
02 

pq 
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THE START FROM PALOS. II 

disposition and the proper method of converting them 
to our holy faith ; and furthermore directed that I should 
not proceed by land to the east, as is customary, but by 
a westerly route, in which direction we have hitherto no 
certain evidence that any one has gone. So after hav- 
ing expelled the Jews from your dominions, your High- 
nesses, in the same month of January, ordered me to 
proceed with a sufficient armament to the said regions 
of India, and for that purpose granted me great favors, 
and ennobled me that henceforth I might call myself 
Don and be High Admiral of the Sea, and perpetual 
viceroy and governor in all the islands and continents 
which I might discover and acquire, or which may here- 
after be discovered and acquired in the ocean ; and that 
the dignity should be inherited by my eldest son, and 
thus descend from degree to degree forever. Hereupon 
I left the city of Granada on Saturday, the twelfth day 
of May, 1492, and proceeded to Palos, a seaport, where 
I armed three vessels, very fit for such an enterprise, 
and having provided myself with abundance of stores 
and seamen, I set sail from the port on Friday, the 3d 
of August, half an hour before sunrise, and steered for 
the Canary Islands of your Highnesses, which are in 
the said ocean, thence to take my departure and proceed 
till I arrived at the Indies, and perform the embassy of 
your Highnesses to the princes there, and discharge the 
orders given me. For this purpose I determined to 
keep an account of the voyage, and to write down punc- 
tually everything we performed or saw from day to day, 
as will hereafter appear. Moreover, Sovereign Princes, 
besides describing every night the occurrences of the 
day, and every day those of the preceding night, I in- 
tend to draw up a nautical chart, which shall contain 



12 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

the several parts of the ocean and land in their proper 
situations ; and also to compose a book to represent the 
whole by picture with latitudes and longitudes, on all 
which accounts it behooves me to abstain from my sleep, 
and make many trials in navigation, which things will 
demand much labor. . . . 

Monday, Aug. 6. The rudder of the caravel " Pinta" 
became loose, being broken or unshipped; it was be- 
lieved that this happened by the contrivance of Gomez 
Rascon and Christopher Quintero, who were on board 
the caravel, because they disliked the voyage. The 
Admiral says he had found them in an unfavorable dis- 
position before setting out. He was in much anxiety 
at not being able to afford any assistance in this case, 
but says that it somewhat quieted his apprehensions to 
know that Martin Alonzo Pinzon, captain of the " Pinta," 
was a man of courage and capacity. Made a progress, 
day and night, of twenty-nine leagues. . . . 

Thursday, Aug. 9. The Admiral says that he was 
assured by many respectable Spaniards, inhabitants of 
the Island of Ferro, who were at Gomera wdth Dona 
Inez Pe'raza, mother of Guillen Peraza, afterwards first 
Count of Gomera, that they every year saw land to the 
west of the Canaries ; and others of Gomera affirmed 
the same with the like assurances. The Admiral here 
says that he remembers, while he was in Portugal, in 
1484, there came a person to the king from the Island 
of Madeira, soliciting for a vessel to go in quest of land, 
which he affirmed he saw every year and always of the 
same appearance. He also says that he remembers the 
same was said by the inhabitants of the Azores and 
described as in a similar direction, and of the same 
shape and size. 



THE VOYAGE. I3 

Having taken in wood, water, meat, and other pro- 
visions, which had been provided by the men which he 
left ashore on departing for Grand Canary to repair the 
"Pinta,"the Admiral took his final departure from Go- 
mera with the three vessels on Thursday, Sept. 6. . . . 

Sunday, Sept. 9. Sailed this day nineteen leagues, 
and determined to count less than the true number, that 
the crew might not be dismayed if the voyage should 
prove long. In the night sailed one hundred and twenty 
miles, at the rate of ten miles an hour, which make 
thirty leagues. The sailors steered badly, causing the 
vessels to fall to leeward toward the northeast, for which 
the Admiral reprimanded them repeatedly. 

Monday, Sept. 10. This day and night sailed sixty 
leagues, at the rate of ten miles an hour, which are two 
leagues and a half. Reckoned only forty-eight leagues, 
that the men might not be terrified if they should be 
long upon the voyage. . . . 

Sunday, Sept. 16. Sailed, day and night, W. thirty- 
nine leagues, and reckoned only thirty-six. Some clouds 
arose and it drizzled. The Admiral here says that 
from this time they experienced very pleasant weather, 
and that the mornings were most delightful, wanting 
nothing but the melody of the nightingales. He com- 
pares the weather to that of Andalusia in April. Here 
they began to meet with large patches of weeds very 
green, and which appeared to have been recently washed 
away from the land ; on which account they all judged 
themselves to be near some island, though not a con- 
tinent, according to the opinion of the Admiral, who 
says, " The continent we shall find further ahead." . . . 

Thursday, Oct. 11. Steered WSW., and encoun- 
tered a heavier sea than they had met with before 



14 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

in the whole voyage. Saw pardelas and a green rush 
near the vessel The crew of the " Pinta " saw cane 
and a log j they also picked up a stick which appeared 
to have been carved with an iron tool, a piece of cane, 
a plant which grows on land, and a board. The crew 
of the " Nina " saw other signs of land, and a stalk 
loaded with roseberries. These signs encouraged them, 
and they all grew cheerful. Sailed this day till sunset, 
twenty-seven leagues. 

After sunset steered their original course W. and sailed 
twelve miles an hour till two miles after midnight, going 
ninety miles, which are twenty-two leagues and a half ; 
and as the " Pinta " was the swiftest sailer, and kept 
ahead of the Admiral, she discovered land and made 
the signals which had been ordered. The land was first 
seen by a sailor called Rodrigo de Triana, although the 
Admiral, at ten o'clock that evening, standing on the 
quarter-deck, saw a light, but so small a body that he 
could not affirm it to be land ; calling to Pero Gutierrez, 
groom of the King's wardrobe, he told him he saw a 
light, and bid him look that way, which he did, and saw 
it ; he did the same to Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia, 
whom the King and Queen had sent with the squadron 
as comptroller, but he was unable to see it from his 
situation. The Admiral again perceived it once or twice, 
appearing like the light of a wax-candle moving up and 
down, which some thought an indication of land. But 
the Admiral held it for certain that land was near ; for 
which reason, after they had said the Salve, which the 
seamen are accustomed to repeat and chant after their 
fashion, the Admiral directed them to keep a strict watch 
upon the forecastle and look out diligently for land, and 
to him who should first discover it he promised a silken 



THE DISCOVERY. 1 5 

jacket, besides the reward which the King and Queen 
had offered, which was an annuity of ten thousand mara- 
vedis. At two o'clock in the morning the land was 
discovered, at two leagues distance; they took in sail and 
remained under the square-sail lying to till day, which 
was Friday, when they found themselves near a small 
island, one of the Lucayos, called in the Indian language 
Guanahani. Presently they descried people, naked, and 
the Admiral landed in the boat, which was armed, along 
with Martin Alonzo Pinzon and Vincent Yanez, his 
brother, captain of the " Nina." The Admiral bore the 
royal standard, and the two captains each a banner of 
the Green Cross, which all the ships carried \ this con- 
tained the initials of the names of the King and Queen 
each side of the cross, and a crown over each letter. 
Arrived on shore they saw trees very green, many 
streams of water, and divers sorts of fruits. The Ad- 
miral called upon the two captains and the rest of the 
crew, who landed, as also to Rodrigo de Escovedo, no- 
tary of the fleet, and Rodrigo Sanchez, of Segovia, to 
bear witness that he before all others took possession 
(as in fact he did) of that island for the King and Queen 
his sovereigns, making the requisite declarations, which 
are more at large set down here in writing. Numbers 
of the people of the island straightway collected together. 
Here follow the precise words of the Admiral : ** As I 
saw that they were very friendly to us, and perceived 
that they could be much more easily converted to our 
holy faith by gentle means than by force, I presented 
them with some red caps, and strings of beads to wear 
upon the neck, and many other trifles of small value, 
wherewith they were much delighted, and became won- 
derfully attached to us. Afterwards they came swim- 



1 6 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

ming to the boats, bringing parrots, balls of cotton 
thread, javelins, and many other things which they ex- 
changed for articles we gave them, such as glass beads 
and hawk's bells ; which trade was carried on with the 
utmost good will. But they seemed, on the whole, to 
me, to be a very poor people. They all go completely 
naked, even the women, though I saw but one girl. All 
whom I saw were young, not above thirty years of age, 
well made, with fine shapes and faces ; their hair short, 
and coarse like that of a horse's tail, combed toward 
the forehead, except a small portion which they suifer 
to hang down behind and never cut. Some paint them- 
selves with black, which makes them appear like those 
of the Canaries, neither black nor w^hite ; others with 
white, others with red, and others with such colors as 
they can find. Some paint the face, and some the whole 
body ; others only the eyes, and others the nose. Weap- 
ons they have none, nor are acquainted with them, for I 
showed them swords which they grasped by the blades, 
and cut themselves through ignorance. They have no 
iron, their javelins being without it, and nothing more 
than sticks, though some have fish-bones or other things 
at the ends. They are all of a good size and stature and 
handsomely formed. I saw some with scars of wounds 
upon their bodies, and demanded by signs the cause of 
them; they answered me in the same way, that there 
came people from the other islands in the neighborhood 
who endeavored to make prisoners of them, and they 
defended themselves. I thought then, and still believe, 
that these were from the continent. It appears to me 
that the people are ingenious, and would be good ser- 
vants ; and I am of opinion that they would very readily 
become Christians, as they appear to have no religion. 



THE NATIVES. 1/ 

They very quickly learn such words as are spoken to 
them. If it please our Lord, I intend at my return to 
carry home six of them to your Highnesses, that they 
may learn our language. I saw no beasts in the island, 
nor any sort of animal except parrots." These are the 
words of the Admiral. 

"Saturday, Oct. 13. At daybreak great multitudes 
of men came to the shore, all young and of fine shapes, 
very handsome ; their hair not curled, but straight and 
coarse like horse-hair, and all with foreheads and heads 
much broader than any people I had hitherto seen ; their 
eyes were large and very beautiful ; they were not black, 
but the color of the inhabitants of the Canaries, which 
is a very natural circumstance, they being in the same 
latitude with the Island of Ferro in the Canaries. They 
were straight-limbed without exception, and handsomely 
shaped. They came to the ship in canoes made of a 
single trunk of a tree, wrought in a wonderful manner 
considering the country ; some of them large enough to 
contain forty or forty-five men, others of different sizes, 
down to those fitted to hold but a single person. They 
rowed with an oar like a baker's peel, and wonderfully 
swift. If they happen to upset they all jump into the 
sea, and swim till they have righted their canoe and 
emptied it with the calabashes they carry with them. 
They came loaded with balls of cotton, parrots, javelins, 
and other things too numerous to mention ; these they 
exchanged for whatever we chose to give them. I was 
very attentive to them, and strove to learn if they had 
any gold. Seeing some of them with little bits of this 
metal hanging at their noses, I gathered from them by 
signs that by going southward, or steering round the 
island in that direction, there would be found a king 



1 8 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

who possessed large vessels of gold, and in great quan- 
tity. I endeavored to procure them to lead the way 
thither, but I found they were unacquainted with the 
route. . . . This is a large and level island, with trees 
extremely flourishing, and streams of water; there is a 
large lake in the middle of the island, but no mountains : 
the whole is completely covered with verdure and de- 
lightful to behold. The natives are an inoffensive 
people, and so desirous to possess anything they saw 
with us, that they kept swimming off to the ships with 
whatever they could find, and readily bartered for any 
article we saw fit to give them in return, even such as 
broken platters and fragments of glass. I saw in this 
manner sixteen balls of cotton thread, which weighed 
above twenty-five pounds, given for three Portuguese 
centis. This traffic I forbade, and suffered no one to 
take their cotton from them, unless I should order it to 
be procured for your Highnesses, if proper quantities 
could be met with. It grows in this island, but from 
my short stay here I could not satisfy myself fully con- 
cerning it ; the gold, also, which they wear in their noses, 
is found here ; but, not to lose time, I am determined 
to proceed onward and ascertain whether I can reach 
Cipango. At night they all went on shore with their 
canoes. . . . 

" Sunday, Oct. 21. At ten o'clock we arrived at a cape 
of the island and anchored, the other vessels in com- 
pany. After having despatched a meal, I went ashore, 
and found no habitation save a single house, and that 
without an occupant ; we had no doubt that the people 
had fled in terror at our approach, as the house was 
completely furnished. I suffered nothing to be touched, 
and went with my captains and some of the crew to 




COLUMBUS ON THE DECK OF HIS CARAVEL 



A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY, 1 9 

view the country. This island even exceeds the others 
in beauty and fertility. Groves of lofty and flourishing 
trees are abundant, as also large lakes surrounded and 
overhung by the foliage in a most enchanting manner. 
Everything looked as green as in April in Andalusia. 
The melody of the birds was so exquisite that one was 
never willing to part from the spot, and the flocks of 
parrots obscured the heavens. The diversity in the 
appearance of the feathered tribe from those of our 
country is extremely curious. A thousand different 
sorts of trees, with their fruit, were to be met with, 
and of a wonderfully delicious odor. It was a great 
affliction to me to be ignorant of their natures, for I 
am very certain they are all valuable ; specimens of 
them and of the plants I have preserved. Going round 
one of these lakes, I saw a snake, which we killed, and 
I have kept the skin for your Highnesses ; upon being 
discovered he took to the water, whither we followed 
him, as it was not deep, and despatched him with our 
lances ; he was seven spans in length. I think there 
are many more such about here. I discovered also the 
aloe-tree, and am determined to take on board the ship, 
to-morrow, ten quintals of it, as I am told it is valuable. 
While we were in search of some good water, we came 
upon a village of the natives about half a league from 
the place where the ships lay ; the inhabitants on dis- 
covering us abandoned their houses, and took to flight, 
carrying off their goods to the mountain. I ordered that 
nothing which they had left should be taken, not even 
the value of a pin. Presently we saw several of the 
natives advancing towards our party, and one of them 
came up to us, to whom we gave some hawk's bells and 
glass beads, with which he was delighted. We asked him 



20 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

in return for water, and after I had gone on board the 
ship the natives came down to the shore with their cala- 
bashes full, and showed great pleasure in presenting us 
with it. I ordered more glass beads to be given them, 
and they promised to return the next day. It is my 
wish to fill all the water-casks of the ships at this place, 
which being executed, I shall depart immediately, if the 
weather serve, and sail round the island, till I succeed 
in meeting with the king, in order to see if I can ac- 
quire any of the gold which I hear he possesses. After- 
wards I shall set sail for another very large island which 
I believe to be Cipango^ according to the indications I 
receive from the Indians on board. They call the 
island Colba^ and say there are many large ships and 
sailors there. This other island they name Bosio, and 
inform me that it is very large ; the others which lie 
in our course I shall examine on the passage, and ac- 
cording as I find gold or spices in abundance I shall 
determine what to do ; at all events I am determined to 
proceed on to the continent, and visit the city of Gui- 
say, where I shall deliver the letters of your Highnesses 
to the Great Can, and demand an answer, with which 
I shall return." . . . 

Friday, Oct. 26. They anchored south of the islands, 
finding the water shallow five or six leagues off the shore. 
The Indians on board told them that the Island of Cuba 
was distant from thence a voyage of a day and a half 
in their canoes, which are small things, made of a log, 
and carrying no sail. Departed for Cuba, which from 
the Indians signifying to them the abundance of gold 
and pearls there, as well as the magnitude of the 
island, they doubted not was Cipango. . . . 

1 Japan. 2 Cuba. 



SEARCH FOR THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 21 

Sunday, Oct. 28. Continued on SSW., in quest 
of the Island of Cuba, keeping close to the shore. 
They entered a fine river, free from shallows and all 
other obstructions, which in fact is the case with all the 
coast here, the shore being very bold. The mouth of 
the river had a depth of water of twelve fathoms, and 
a breadth sufficient for ships to beat in. They anchored 
within the river, and the Admiral states that the pros- 
pect here exceeded in beauty anything he ever saw, the 
river being surrounded with trees of the most beauti- 
ful and luxuriant foliage of a singular appearance, and 
covered with flowers and fruits of all sorts. Birds were 
here in abundance, singing most delightfully. Great 
numbers of palm-trees were noticed, different from those 
of Guinea and ours, wanting their particular manner of 
bark ; they were of a moderate height, and bore very 
large leaves, which the natives use for coverings to their 
houses. The land appeared quite level. The Admiral 
went ashore in the boat, and found two dwellings, which 
he supposed to be those of fishermen, and that the 
owners had fled ; he found in one of them a dog unable 
to bark. Both houses contained nets of palm, lines, 
horn fish-hooks, harpoons of bone, and other imple- 
ments for fishing, as also many fireplaces, and each 
seemed to be adapted to the reception of a large num- 
ber of persons. The Admiral gave orders that nothing 
should be touched, which directions were adhered to. 
The grass was as high as it is in Andalusia in April 
and May, and they found purslain and strawberry-blite 
in abundance. They returned on board the boat and 
ascended the river some distance, where the Admiral 
says it was exceedingly pleasant to behold the de- 
lightful verdure and foliage which presented itself, not 



22 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

to mention the birds in the neighborhood ; the whole 
offered a scene of such enchantment that it was hardly 
possible to part from it. He declares this to be the 
most beautiful island ever seen, abounding in good har- 
bors and deep rivers, with a shore upon which it ap- 
pears that the sea never breaks high, as the grass grows 
down to the water's edge, a thing which never happens 
where the sea is rough. Indeed, a high sea they had 
not yet experienced among these islands. This isle, 
he says, is full of pleasant mountains, which are lofty, 
although not of great extent ; the rest of the country is 
high, after the manner of Sicily, abounding in streams, as 
they understood from the Indians of Guanahani, which 
were on board the ships, who informed them by signs 
that it contained ten large rivers, and was of such a 
size that with their canoes they could not sail round it 
in twenty days. When the ships were sailing towards 
the island, some of the natives put off from the shore 
in two canoes ; and perceiving the Spaniards entering 
into the boat and rowing towards the mouth of the 
river to sound for an anchorage, they took to flight. 
The Indians told them there were mines of gold here, 
and pearls, and the Admiral observed mussels and other 
indications of these articles in the neighborhood. They 
further informed him that there came large ships hither 
from the Great Can, and that the mainland was distant 
ten days' voyage. The Admiral named the river and 
port San Salvador. . . . 

Wednesday, Nov. 21. . . . To-day Martin Alonzo 
Pinzon, in the caravel '* Pinta," left the other ships, 
without the leave of the Admiral, incited by his cu- 
pidity, upon the occasion of an Indian on board his 
vessel offering to direct him whither he might find 



Bcemicsi 




SHIP OF COLUMBUS'S TIME 



PINZON'S DUPLICITY. 23 

much gold. Thus he abandoned them without any ex- 
cuse of necessity, or stress of weather, and the Admiral 
remarks : " He has by language and actions occasioned 
me many other troubles." . . . 

Sunday, Jan. 6. ... In the afternoon, the wind blow- 
ing strong from the east, a sailor was sent to the mast- 
head to look out for the shallows, when he discovered 
the caravel " Pinta " bearing down upon them before 
the wind ; no good anchorage being found in the neigh- 
borhood, the Admiral hove about and stood back for 
Monte Christo^ from which they had gone ten leagues ; 
the ** Pinta " kept him company, and Martin Alonzo Pin- 
zon came on board the " Nina " to make his excuses, 
saying he had parted against his will ; he offered several 
reasons for his conduct, which the Admiral says were all 
totally false, as he was actuated solely by his haugh- 
tiness and avidity in abandoning him. He confesses 
himself unable to learn the cause of the unfavorable 
disposition which this man had manifested towards him 
throughout the voyage ; but the immediate occasion of 
his deserting him was the information he got from an 
Indian whom the Admiral had placed on board his 
vessel, that in an island called Baneque he would find 
abundance of gold^ and knowing his vessel to be light 
and a swift sailer he did not hesitate to abandon him as 
before related. The Admiral concealed his resentment, 
that he might not aid the machinations of Satan in im- 
peding the voyage, as he had hitherto done. It was 
ascertained that Martin Alonzo, on arriving at Baneque^ 
had not found any gold, and had thence returned to the 
coast of Espanola, where from the information of the 
Indians he expected to discover the mine. . . . 

Tuesday, Jan. 8. The wind blowing hard from the 



24 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

E. and S. E., he did not sail to-day^ but continued pro- 
viding wood, water, and other necessaries for the voy- 
age. It was the Admiral's wish to coast along the whole 
Island of Espaiiola, which he might have done upon his 
course homeward ; but as he considered that the cap- 
tains of the two caravels were brothers, namely, Martin 
Alonzo Pinzon and Vincent Yanez, and that they had 
a party attached to them, the whole of whom had dis- 
played great haughtiness and avarice, disobeying his 
commands, regardless of the honors he had conferred on 
them, all which misdemeanors as well as the treachery 
of Martin Alonzo, in deserting him, he had winked at, 
without complaining, in order not to throw impediments 
in the way of the voyage, — he thought it best to return 
home as quickly as possible. He adds that he pos- 
sessed many faithful men among his crews, but resolved 
to put up with the behavior of the refractory ones, 
and not at such an unfavorable season undertake their 
punishment. 

During the next week Horace and Marian got the 
French translation of Navarrete, and translated some of 
the third voyage. 

A NEW ROUTE. 

I departed in the name of the Holy Trinity from the 
city of San Lucar on Wednesday, the 30th of May, in 
the year 1498, wearied with my voyage ; for, though I 
had hoped in leaving the Indies to find some repose in 
Spain, I had experienced only opposition and vexa- 
tion. I sailed for the Island of Madeira on a new 
course, to escape the affront that might be put upon me 
by a French fleet which was awaiting me oif Cape St. 



A NEW ROUTE. 2$ 

Vincent, and arrived at the Canary Islands, whence I set 
forth with one ship and two caravels ; the other ships I 
sent in a straight course for Espafiola, while I myself 
sailed toward the south, meaning to reach the equinoc- 
tial hne, and then to follow along in a westerly direction 
until Espanola should be toward the north. After arriv- 
ing at the Cape Verd Islands, — called green falsely, as 
they are so dry that I perceived no vestige of verdure 
upon them, and of which all the inhabitants are sick, — 
I sailed toward the southwest for four hundred and 
eighty miles, or one hundred and twenty leagues, where 
the wind left me. There I experienced such glowing 
heat that I thought that the ships and their crews 
would be burned up ; it came all on a sudden to such 
a point that there was no one who dared to go below 
decks to repair the casks and to take care of the pro- 
visions. This heat lasted for eight days. The first day 
was clear ; the seven days following it rained and was 
cloudy; we experienced no comfort. I truly believe 
that, if the sun had been throughout as hot as it was 
on the first day, no one of us would have been able to 
resist it. 

I remember that, in sailing to the Indies, every time 
that I reached the distance of one hundred leagues to 
the west of the Azore Islands, I found that the tem- 
perature changed, and that happened, too, in sailing from 
north to south. Upon this I resolved that if it should 
please God to give me wind and good weather, so that 
I might get out of the situation in which I was, that I 
would cease to sail straight toward the south, but that, 
without retracing my steps, I would sail to the west so 
that I might finally sail in such a direction as to meet 
with the temperature which I had experienced when on 



26 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

the parallel of the Canaries ; and that, if it should so fall 
out, I might then sail more to the southward. After this 
I resolved to sail due west until I should reach the spot 
where I thought to find land, and that there I would 
careen the ships, provide myself with stores, and to take 
there water of which I was in want. After seventeen 
days, during which time God our Lord gave me a fair 
wind, on Tuesday, the 31st of July, at mid-day, land ap- 
peared to us. I had hoped to discover it on the Mon- 
day before, and I held on the same course that I had 
been following, until sunrise and lack of water had made 
me decide to make for the Islands of the Caribbees, and 
I took that direction. And as his Divine Majesty has 
always shown me pity, a sailor by chance mounted to 
the tops, and thence perceived toward the west a moun- 
tain with three peaks. We said the Salve Regina and 
other prayers, and gave thanks to our Lord. I ceased 
then to direct my course northward, and proceeded to- 
ward the land, which we reached about the hour of 
evening service, coming first to a cape which I named 
de la Golea^ after giving the island the name of la Irini- 
dad. There would have been a fine harbor here if we 
could have found anchorage. There were houses and 
inhabitants and very good fields, as beautiful and as 
green as the orchards of Valencia in the month of 
March. I was vexed at being unable to enter the har- 
bor, and so ran along the shore to the westward for five 
leagues, where I found a very good bottom and an- 
chored. The next day I set sail in the same direc- 
tion, seeking a port where I might careen the vessels, 
get water, and renew my provisions. I took there a 
pipe of water, and sailed afterward for the cape, where 
I found anchorage and a good bottom, where I anchored. 




COLUMBUS AT HISPANIOLA 



WONDERFUL CURRENTS. 2/ 

There we repaired the casks and took on wood and water ; 
and I made the crews land, that they might get rid of the 
fatigues which they had endured for so long a time. . . . 
Arriving at this point, I noticed that the Island of Trini- 
dad formed with the mainland a sort of canal of about 
two leagues in breadth from west to east, and that to 
enter in order to go northward you meet a succession of 
currents which cross the canal with a terrible noise ; 
I thought that this arose from reefs and quicksands 
which would prevent further progress. Beyond these 
currents there were still others, all of which together 
made a terrible noise, like that produced by the waves 
of the sea breaking upon rocks. I anchored off the 
point of VArenal outside the canal, and I found that 
the water ran from east to west with as much violence 
as does the Guadalquivir when it overflows its banks, 
and that, too, night and day without ceasing. I thought 
that I should be able neither to retrace my course, 
because of these currents, nor to go forward because of 
shallows ; and far on in the night, when on board the 
ship, I heard a roaring noise which came from the south 
toward the ship. Looking at it, I saw the sea rising 
from west to east, forming a sort of hill as high as the 
ship, and advancing slowly toward me. Beyond this 
rising of the sea was a current which came on roaring 
with a great disturbance, and with the same horrible 
noise as the other currents, which I have already com- 
pared to the noise of the sea breaking upon the rocks. 
Even now I can feel again the fear I experienced of 
being swallowed up when the waves reached my ship ; 
but it passed by and reached the canal, where it stopped 
for some time. The next day I sent some boats to 
make soundings, and I found in the shallowest part of 



28 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

the Strait that there were six or seven fathoms of water, 
and that these currents ran continually, one running in 
and the other running out. It then pleased our Lord 
to give me a good wind, and with it I crossed the inside 
of the strait, after which I met a calm sea. By chance 
some on board tasted of the water of the sea and found 
it fresh. . . . 

" The last part of the journal of this voyage," said 
Marian, as she was reading these extracts to the rest in 
the Lady Oliver house, " is taken up chiefly by specu- 
lations about the earthly Paradise which Columbus 
thought was somewhere in this part of the world. I 
have translated one of the passages, for I think that the 
idea of the terrestrial Paradise was a funny one." 

I have already said in another place what I think of 
this hemisphere and of its shape. Now I believe that if 
I passed under the equinoctial line, in getting to this 
most elevated point of which I spoke, I should find a 
more gentle temperature, . . . and I am convinced that 
in that place is the terrestrial Paradise at which no one 
can hope to arrive except by the will of God, and I 
think that this land the discovery of which your High- 
nesses have now ordered is very large, and that there 
are many others toward the south of which I have never 
had any information. I do not admit that the terrestrial 
Paradise has the form of an inaccessible rock, as what 
we are told would lead us to think j but I think that it 
is on the top of that part of the world where I have 
said the earth is of the form of a pear near its stem, 
and that the highest elevation is formed by an almost 
imperceptible slope, beginning at a great distance from 



UNCLE FRITZ'S LETTER. 29 

It ; and I believe that no one can reach the summit, as 
I have said ; and I also think that this water may come 
from thence, although it is far away, and that it stops 
in the place from whence I come and forms this lake. 
There are these great indications of the terrestrial Para- 
dise \ that the situation is conformed to the opinion of 
holy and wise theologians, and the indications I have 
spoken of are also agreeable to them, for I have never 
read nor heard that such a quantity of fresh water could 
be in this manner in the salt water and so near to it. 
And what also supports the theory is the delicious tem- 
perature. And if the water of which I speak does not 
come from the terrestrial Paradise, that seems still more 
of a wonder ; for I do not believe that one could find 
on this earth another river as large and as deep as is 
this one. 



The young people read this in the autumn. 

The next spring, Colonel Ingham went to Spain him- 
self. He wrote them, from the place where Columbus 
set sail, this letter : — 

Convent of Sta. Maria de Rabida. 

My dear Boys and Girls, — When we were reading 
aloud the Columbus voyages, some one asked how much 
of a place Palos was, and we looked for it on the map 
and it was not there. Now, when I was a boy, there 
used to be a speech of Mr. Everett's which we spoke at 
school. The extract began, "About half a league from 
the little seaport of Palos, there stands a convent dedi- 
cated to St. Mary." And it goes on to describe how, at 
the door of this convent, Columbus " asked of the porter 



30 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

a little bread and water for his child." Well, when we 
looked on the map for Palos, you remember we could 
not find it. And when we looked in the index to the 
map, Palos was not there. It seemed to me a little sad, 
that the seaport from which one of the greatest men 
in history sailed, for the greatest adventure in history, 
should be omitted from the map of modern time. 

Not a great while after, I was talking to one of the 
most distinguished geographers in the world in his own 
cabinet, where we were surrounded by the best maps in 
the world. I asked him where Palos was. Of course 
both of us knew that it was from Palos that Columbus 
sailed. He looked upon an elegant map of Spain ; put 
his finger at the mouth of the Tinto River, and said, " It 
is here." " Please look and see if it is there," said I. 
And, strange to say, it was not there. In that cabinet of 
geography our luck was the same which you and I had 
in poor Uncle Fritz's little library. 

I believe it is this experience which has made me 
come to see Palos with my own eyes. The truth is, as 
I told you when we did not find it on our map, that the 
drift of the sands of centuries has filled up the basin of 
the harbor of Palos. All the commerce has gone which 
made it in the time of Columbus and of Cortes so re- 
markable a harbor. But a little below, on the other 
side of the river, is Huelva, a town which has grown up 
as Palos has declined, and which now is the port for the 
railways which connect with the copper-mines of the 
Tinto, — mines which are quite thoroughly worked by 
an English company. 

So, while at poor Palos you can scarcely see a fishing- 
boat, the town being a mile and more back from the 
water, at prosperous Pluelva, on the other side of the 







COLUMBUS AT THE CONVENT OF RABIDA 



RABID A. 31 

harbor, you see a long pier for steamers, a railway run- 
ning down to the pier itself, arranged so that the copper 
ore can be dumped into the ships from the cars. 

But, while the town of Palos has thus declined, the 
dear old Convent of Sta. Maria de Rabida still stands. 
It is, indeed, very little changed from what it was. The 
good prior, who gave the bread and water to the little 
Diego Columbus, became Christopher Columbus's firm 
friend. It was he who commended him to Queen Isa- 
bella, and you know it was she, who always befriended 
him, who said she would sell her jewels, if no one else 
would furnish the money for the expedition which dis- 
covered America. So they have always preserved the 
memory of him here. I suppose he lived here while the 
expedition was fitting out. To Palos they came round 
from Lisbon, after their safe return ; and I have no 
doubt that the first visit he made was to the dear old 
prior, and that he brought him home a travel present 
from the West Indies. 

So it happens, that though very little is left of Palos, 
the Convent of Rabida, as it is now called, has been 
preciously preserved in memory of America and Colum- 
bus. There are no longer any monks here or any priors. 
But the Spanish nation takes a national pride in main- 
taining the convent. I am writing this letter to my 
boys and girls, in Columbus's own room, from which he 
could look out across the ocean ; and I dip my pen to 
write in ink from Columbus's own inkstand. All around 
the room there now hang pictures ; some of him, one of 
Isabella, one of the good old prior, and some by mod- 
ern painters of different scenes in the great first voyage, 
and of his experiences after his return. 

The chapel of the convent is down -stairs. It is neat 



32 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

and pretty, and worship could be renewed there at any 
time. The Duke of Montpensier, who married a sister 
of Isabel II., a former Queen of Spain, arranged to have it 
all put in proper order. The nation, as I say, maintains 
the place, and a charming family of nice Spaniards 
— grandfather, grandmother, son, daughter, and three 
nice boys, Christopher, Immanuel, and Joseph — keep 
the place in order. 

The Spanish historians now think that Columbus 
came to Rabida with the very purpose of interesting 
Marchena, the good prior. Marchena was interested, 
and recommended him first to the Bishop of Tala- 
vera. But, alas, he thought Columbus was a madman. 
King and queen alike were occupied in fighting the 
Moors. The council of wise men at Salamanca, to 
whom Columbus's plans were referred, decided unfavor- 
ably. Columbus did receive some favorable messages 
from France. Wholly discouraged in Spain, six years 
after his first visit here he came again, — from Cordoba 
this time, where were the relations of his wife arid of his 
son Diego. He came to say that, as Spain had given 
him up, he should give Spain up, and see if the King of 
France would not fit out the expedition. 

The good Friar Marchena was dismayed at this. He 
could not bear to have the glory lost to Spain. He 
sent for Garcia Fernandos, a doctor in Palos, who had 
been interested when Columbus was here before. He 
sent for Pinzon, a rich merchant of Palos. They all 
talked it over again, and the friar wrote to the queen 
this time, not to any bishop. The queen sent back 
word, that Columbus was to come himself to explain 
the plan. And the sadness of the convent was changed 
to joy. 



COLUMBUS HAPPY. 33 

Columbus's mule was saddled at once. He started 
that night for Santa Fe, and had an audience from 
Isabella. She heard and beheved. She promised her 
support. And Columbus wrote this letter to the dear 
brother Diego here at the convent : — 

^* Our Lord God has heard the prayers of his servants. 
The wise and virtuous Isabel, touched by the grace of 
Heaven, has kindly listened to this poor man's words. 
All has turned out well. I have read to them our plan ; 
it has been accepted, and I have been called to the court 
to state the proper means for carrying out the designs of 
Providence. 'My courage swims in a sea of consolation, 
and my spirit rises in praise to God. Come as soon as 
you can ; the queen looks for you, and I much more 
than she. I commend myself to the prayers of my dear 
sons, and to you. 

" The grace of God be with you, and may our Lady 
of Rabida bless you." 

And so it was happily settled. Columbus discovered 
America ; the old house was built for the Olivers at 
Jamaica Plain, and you and I read about Columbus 
there. 

So no more at present, from your dear 

Uncle Fritz. 



IL 

DA GAMA AND THE EAST. 

'^T TNCLE FRITZ," said Blanche, the next Saturday, 
^^ '* I have always had a jealous feeling that Vasco 
da Gama is not enough remembered or praised. Every- 
body knows about Columbus, and he has statues and 
things ; but nobody makes any fuss about poor Vasca 
da Gama. Why do w^e not hear and read about his 
discoveries as much as Columbus's ? He must have 
sailed farther." 

" Because we are Americans,'' said Bedford. " I 
suppose in Calicut or Mogador, — wherever they may 
be, — there is a statue of Da Gama." 

" And a ' District of Da Gama,' and ' Da Gama Ave- 
nue,' paved with wood," said Emma, laughing. 

Colonel Ingham said that this was partly true, and 
that if they went to Portugal or the East, they would 
find Vasco da Gama by no means forgotten. 

" If we have time to-day," said he, " one of you girls 
shall read us some of the Lusiad, — which is the great 
poem of Portugal, — and you will see that he had a 
poet worthy of him. This is better luck than poor 
Columbus had in Mr. Joel Barlow. 

" But the truth is, that Da Gama's discovery was all 
but made before he started. He forged the last link : 
that was all. 



L 'At7xiraiit£ I>on 




VASCO DA GAMA AND THE TOWN OF CALICUT 



EARLIER VOYAGES. 35 

"As early as 1402, a Norman gentleman, Jean de 
Bethencourt, fitted out an expedition to conquer and 
settle the Canary Islands, which had been visited by 
Europeans and by Arabs already. Bethencourt was a 
courageous and spirited fellow, and he pushed down the 
African coast as far as Cape Bojador. 

" In Portugal, meanwhile, that plucky, wide-awake Don 
Henry, the third son of King John, lived in his castle 
on Cape Sagres, just above Cape St. Vincent, here, and 
looked off to sea. No tournaments there, no feasts, no 
hunting ; it was all, just like Lady Oliver's parlor here, 
consecrated to science. Jews and Moors, people from 
Tunis and Venice and Genoa and Minorca, anybody who 
had travelled, was welcome here. Here was a fine ob- 
servatory ; and here he established a nautical school. He 
took for his motto, ' The talent to do goo d^^ and, as he stood 
on his rocky outlook every day, and watched the sea, his 
wish and hope was to learn more of its mysteries. 

" A gentleman of his court, Gil Eanez, had displeased 
him by taking some people from the Canaries, to make 
slaves of them, without his permission. To recover the 
prince's favor, he went on an adventure in 1433, and 
passed Cape Bojador fifty miles. Alphonso Gongalez 
took up the work then, and in a small vessel, with only 
twenty-one sailors, he went as far as the river of gold. 
He brought back some negroes, who were the first real 
negroes of curly hair, and wholly black, whom the Por- 
tuguese had seen. Nuno Tristao went farther. All 
these discoveries were made at Don Henry's suggestion 
and at his cost. A trade in ivory and pepper and slaves 
sprang up from it; and there were sometimes thirty 
vessels engaged in it. In 1419 the Madeiras were dis- 
covered, and in 1445 the Islands of Cape Verd. 



36 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

" So the Portuguese seamen kept creeping along, 
step by step, till they had discovered the whole Gulf of 
Guinea. In 1469 the king gave to Gomez, a Lisbon 
merchant, the privilege of trading on the coast of Sene- 
gambia, on condition that he should every year ex- 
plore a hundred miles of coast. Don Henry had died 
in 1760, but he had sent out no less than fifty ex- 
peditions, and he had inspired all Portugal with his 
enthusiasm. He is ' Henry the Navigator.' 

" A war with Spain postponed adventure for a while ; 
but in 1484, Bartholomew Diaz made an eager effort to 
pass the Cape of Good Hope, still unknown. They had 
every reason to know it was somewhere, for Hanno's 
vessels had passed it in the Carthaginian times. Diaz 
pushed on past Cape Voltas, lost sight of land, found it 
again far to the east, but his sailors were frightened, and 
he could only persuade them to go on for three days 
more, just as Columbus did. He had not Columbus's 
good luck. The three days ended, and the shore still 
ran south, so they had to return. This was in 1484. 
Diaz only returned to fit out another expedition, and 
this time doubled the cape. He called it Cabo Tormen- 
toso, "the Cape of Tempests." But the king, John II., 
rightly understood the augury, and gave it the admirable 
name it has had ever since, — ^the Cape of Good Hope.' 
But for years it was Hope and nothing more. 

" King John began now at the other end. He sent 
two officers to the east, to gain such news as they could 
of the shape of Eastern Africa. One of them, named 
De Payva died. But Covilham, the other, visited Mada- 
gascar in Arab vessels, and sent home an account to 
King John. For himself, poor fellow, he was kept a 
prisoner in Abyssinia till 1520. So, you see, as early 



DA GAM A. 37 

as 1490, they knew the general shape of Africa as far 
down as Madagascar on the east, while they had turned 
the Cape of Good Hope on the west. All there was 
left to discover was the little strip between. And, as I 
said, they knew that the Carthaginians had passed all 
around the continent. 

" One rather wonders that they waited so long before 
* trying the adventure.' But in fact it was 1497, before 
the King sent out the little fleet that succeeded. And 
then, dear Blanche, it was under your hero, Vasco da 
Gama. He certainly is a great discoverer, but he is a 
discoverer of something which was pretty well known 
before." 

" Like the discoverer of the source of Mink Brook ? " 

"Yes; but this is more important than that, per- 
haps. 

"Then you must remember, that when Da Gama 
and his people came to India, they came to countries 
of which Europe had known since Alexander's time. 
They found people who could speak Arabic, with whom 
they could talk. There was not the absolute fresh- 
ness in the discovery which Columbus and the Span- 
iards found in people who had never heard of Europe 
or Asia, or their arts, of their ships, their guns and 
powder, or their language." 

After this the talk became more general, and in one 
and another book the children marked and read the 
passages which are here copied. 



38 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 



DA GAMA'S DISCOVERY OF THE EAST INDIES. 

The same worthy King of Portugal, John IL, while he 
endeavored, by these his ambassadors, to gain a perfect 
knowledge of the state of the Indies by land, neglected 
not the prosecution of what had been so long labored 
with the same view at sea. It was to facilitate this 
design that he employed Bartholomew Diaz, one of his 
courtiers, and a person remarkable for great prudence, 
much skill in the art of navigation, as well as for invin- 
cible courage, to proceed still farther along the south 
coast of Africa ; which accordingly he did in the year 
i486, and executed his commission with equal conduct 
and success. He carried with him several negroes, who 
had been many years in his service, and whom, from 
time to time, he set on shore, well dressed, with a small 
quantity of goods, on purpose that they might inform 
the people of the country how well they had been used, 
and how kindly treated by the Portuguese. He like- 
wise set up crosses of stone, with the arms of Portugal 
engraven upon them, to assert his master's title to the 
countries by him discovered. 

At last, arriving in sight of a high cape, near which 
he met with very bad weather, he lost the company of 
his victualling bark ; upon which his crew mutinied, 
complaining that it was too much to endure at one time 
the hardships of the sea and of famine. But Captain 
Diaz represented to them that the former was not to 
be escaped by going back, and that the only means they 
had of preventing the latter was to proceed till they 
came to some place where they could get refreshments ] 
he prevailed upon them to double the cape, and to sail 



DON VASQUEZ DA GAM A. 39 

a good way beyond it, to a place where he erected an- 
other pillar of stone ; and, having obtained a small sup- 
ply, he returned, and, in his passage homeward, met 
with his bark again, in which, of nine men that he had 
left, three only survived, and of these Ferdinand Co- 
lazza died with joy at the first sight of the captain. He 
continued his voyage safely to Lisbon, where he arrived 
in December, 1487, sixteen months and seven days after 
his setting out, having discovered above a thousand 
miles along the coast. 

He gave the king, his master, a very full account of 
all that had happened to him, and insisted particularly 
on the difficulty with which he had doubled that stu- 
pendous promontory, which, from the stormy sea about 
it, he thought fit to call Cabo Tormentoso^ that is, " the 
Tempestuous Cape ; '' but the king, who, from the lights 
he had received from Covillan's letters, knew how to 
form a right judgment of the importance of this dis- 
covery, styled it Cabo del Buena Esperanza^ or "the 
Cape of Good Hope," which name it has ever since re- 
tained ; for he saw clearly, from the agreement between 
these accounts, that the passage was now open, and 
that there wanted but one voyage more to finish what 
they had so much desired, namely, the finding a direct 
passage by sea to the East Indies. . . . 

The person chosen to command was Don Vasquez da 
Gama, a man of quality, who possessed all the talents 
necessary for such an employment. On the 9th of July, 
1497, he embarked on board the "Gabriel," which was 
the admiral of this little fleet, of the burthen of one 
hundred and twenty tons, and the same day put to sea ; 
and after being exposed to continual storms, in which 
they frequently gave themselves over for lost, they 



40 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

entered a large bay, which the men called Angra de 
Santa Elena, or ^'the Bay of St. Helena." 

They sailed from St. Helena with a southwest wind, 
on the 1 6th of November, and on the i8th in the even- 
ing came in sight of the Cape of Good Hope, which they 
doubled on the 20th, sounding their trumpets and engag- 
ing in several diversions, as expressions of their joy. As 
they coasted along the shore, they had the prospect of a 
very fine country, interspersed with woods and lawns, 
abounding with numerous herds of large and small cattle, 
and peopled with blacks, who resembled those of St. 
Helena. Da Gama, having at length run seventy leagues 
beyond the cape, arrived at another bay, to which he 
gave the name of Angra de San Bias, near which is a 
small island, where the ships lay to, to take in a supply 
of water. The land about this bay is very fertile, and 
abounds with elephants and fine oxen, used by the na- 
tives instead of horses. There were also a multitude of 
penguins, and a prodigious number of seals. 

A few days after their arrival there appeared about 
ninety of the inhabitants, some on the sands, and others 
on the mountains ; upon which the admiral landed with 
all his men well armed, and, drawing near the shore, 
threw upon the land little bells, which the negroes took 
up, and some came so nigh as to receive them out of 
his own hand, when, venturing on shore with his men, 
he exchanged some red nightcaps for ivory bracelets. 
A few days after, above two hundred blacks came down 
with twelve oxen and four sheep, and, on the Portuguese 
going on shore, they began to play upon four flutes, 
accompanied with several voices, which made no dis- 
agreeable music. The admiral, striking in with this 
humor, ordered the trumpets to sound, while his men 



NATAL AND DE LOS REYES. 41 

danced along with the natives, and thus the day passed 
in mirth and feasting. Not long after, many more 
blacks, men and women, came again with cattle, of 
whom the Portuguese bought an ox ; but, perceiving 
some young negroes behind the bushes with weapons 
in their hands, the admiral suspected some treachery, 
and therefore ordered his people to retire to a place 
of greater security ; the blacks then went along the 
shore, keeping pace with the boats till they came to 
the place where the Portuguese had landed, and then 
joined themselves in a body, as if they intended to 
fight ; but the admiral being unwilling to hunt them, 
withdrew in his boats, only ordering two pieces of ord- 
nance to be shot off to frighten them ; at this they 
were so terrified, that they ran away in confusion, leav- 
ing their weapons behind ; but afterward, sending some 
of his men on shore to erect a pillar, on which were the 
King of Portugal's arms and cross, the negroes pulled 
it down before their faces. 

Da Gama left this place on the 8th of November, 
and soon after met with a dreadful storm. On Christ- 
mas day they saw land, which for that reason they 
called Tierra de Natal. After this they came to a 
river, which they called De los Reyes ^ or, "Of the 
Kings," from its being first seen on the day of Epiph- 
any. Here Da Gama left two men to inform them- 
selves of whatever was worthy of notice in the country, 
and to give him an account of what they had learned at 
his return. For this purpose he had some malefactors 
with him, whose punishments were changed for these 
dangers. Here he dealt for some ivory and provisions, 
so much to the satisfaction of the blacks, that their king 
came on board. 



42 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

On the nth of January, again drawing near land, the 
men went in their boats along the coast to take a view 
of it, when they saw a great number of men and women 
who appeared to be quiet and civil people. The admi- 
ral then sent one of his men who was well versed in the 
languages of Africa, attended by another person, to pay 
his respects to the king, who received them with great 
civility, and dismissed them with presents. In return 
the admiral sent his Majesty a red jacket, a pair of 
stockings, and a cap of the same color, wdth a copper 
bracelet, which he received with pleasure, and in return 
promised to give the person who brought this present 
anything his country afforded, and invited the gentleman 
and his companion to his town. Da Gama having given 
him leave, this gentleman, wdiose name was Alonzo, 
went forward with the king, whose subjects beholding 
him on the road in his new habit, clapped their hands 
with signs of joy and admiration. On their entering the 
town, the king went round it, to give the inhabitants an 
opportunity of beholding his finery ; and then, taking 
Alonzo to his house, supped with him upon a hen and 
boiled millet. Here many of the negroes came to see 
Alonzo and his attendant ; and the next day they were 
sent back with some blacks laden with hens for the 
admiral, who returned them thanks, and called the place 
the Land of Good People. 

Departing from thence on the 15th of January, they 
proceeded along a low coast, full of very large and lofty 
trees, as far as Cape Corientes, or the Cape of Currents, 
proceeding fifty leagues beyond Sofala, without seeing 
that city. On the 24th they entered the mouth of a 
very large river, up which Da Gama, with several of the 
men, proceeded in their boats ; the land was low like the 



MELINDA. 43 

former^ and abounded in tall trees laden with a variety 
of fruits ; and, proceeding farther, they found several 
boats with sails made of palm. The Portuguese were 
encouraged at seeing people who understood something 
of sailing, — a circumstance which they had not met with 
before on all these coasts. The natives came in their 
boats to the ships without fear or hesitation, and be- 
haved to the Portuguese with as much familiarity as if 
they had been old acquaintances. The admiral treated 
them kindly, gave them small bells, and other toys, and 
talked with them by signs, for none on board understood 
their language. They afterwards returned in their boats 
with others, bringing provisions, and more of the natives 
came along the waterside, among whom were some 
pretty women. 

On the third day two persons of rank came in their 
boats to visit the admiral. These had their aprons 
larger than the rest, and one of them wore on his head 
a handkerchief wrought with silk, and the other a green 
satin cap. Da Gama gave them a courteous reception, 
invited them to eat, and gave them apparel, with other 
things, but they seemed by their looks to set no value on 
them. However, it appeared from certain signs made by 
a young man, that they were of a distant country, and 
had seen as large ships as those they were then in ; and 
when they were landed, they offered some pieces of calico 
to sale. Da Gama rejoiced at these happy tokens, and 
all on board were elevated with hopes of soon reaching 
the treasures of India ; wherefore the admiral called this 
the River of Good Signs, and erected a pillar on which 
was carved a crucifix and under it the arms of Portugal. 
Here they also refitted their ships, and endeavored to 
cure the men who were sick of the scurvy. . . . 



44 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

On the 5th of October Da Gama left this coast, hav- 
ing first ordered the vessel he had taken to be burned. 
He now steered for Melinda, but was exposed to great 
danger by the length of the passage, occasioned by 
storms, calms, and contrary winds, by which means the 
men became so dreadfully afflicted with the scurvy that 
there were not above sixteen men fit for labor in each 
ship. To prevent their overshooting Melinda, the ships 
came to an anchor every night ; but on their arriving at 
a village of Moors, within ten leagues of that city, there 
appeared eight large boats, filled with soldiers, steering 
directly toward the ships ; but the admiral firing upon 
them they soon tacked about and fled. At length he ar- 
rived at Melinda, where he again met with a most friendly 
reception, and was supplied with refreshments. He 
stayed there five days, and then sailed, taking with him 
the ambassador the King of Melinda had before prom- 
ised to send to Portugal ; and as the admiral had not a 
sufficient number of men to navigate the three ships, he 
burned the " St. Raphael," commanded by his brother. 

On the 27th of February Da Gama reached Zanzibar, 
a pretty large island, in six degrees south latitude, near 
which are two others, Pemba and Monsia, — all of them 
very fertile. The Prince of Zanzibar, though a Mahom- 
etan, entertained the Portuguese with great hospitality, 
and furnished them with a supply of fruit and fresh pro- 
visions. Da Gama steered from thence along the coast, 
and, passing Mozambique, took in wood and water at 
the Island of San Bias. On the 26th of April he doubled 
the Cape of Good Hope, and then steered for the 
Island of St. Jago ; but the two ships being separated 
by a violent storm, Nicholas Coello, who commanded the 
Berrio. being in haste to carry the news of the discovery 



THE RETURN, 45 

to the king, steered directly for Lisbon, and on the loth 
of July put into Cuscais. The admiral, on his arrival 
at St. Jago, left his ship to be fitted up ; and hiring a 
caravel, arrived at Belem in September, 1499, after a 
voyage of two years and two months, in which he had 
lost above half his men. 

The king, overjoyed at his return, sent a nobleman 
and several gentlemen to conduct him to court, in the 
way to which he passed through crowds of spectators, 
and was received with extraordinary honors. For this 
service he was honored with the title of Don, a part of 
the king's arms was added to his, and an annual pen- 
sion of three thousand ducats was granted to him. 
Nicholas Coello was made a Fidalgo, and had an ap- 
pointment of one hundred ducats j and, in short, the 
king himself augmented his own title on account of this 
new discovery, vainly styling himself Lord of the Con- 
quest and Navigation of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and the 
Indies. Upon this occasion public thanksgivings were 
made throughout the kingdom for the success of the voy- 
age; to which succeeded feasts and entertainments; and 
those who had long represented these designs as im- 
practicable now grew ashamed of their opposition, and 
became the most zealous in recommending them. 

After the children had looked over this account of 
the voyage which they had found in the second vol- 
ume of "A New Collection of Voyages,"^ Uncle Fritz 
showed them another account which he had found in 
the publications of the Hakluyt Society, and from this 
Bedford read some of the parts which seemed the most 
interesting. 

1 John Knox's Collection, London, 1767 



4.6 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 



THE VOYAGE OF VASCO DA GAMA. 

The ships being equipped and ready, as I have said, 
one Sunday the king went with the queen, Dona Maria, 
to hear mass, which was said pontifically by the Bishop 
Calgadilha, who also made a discourse in praise of the 
voyage, and holy design of the king in regard to the new 
discovery which he was commanding to be made ; and 
he called upon the people to pray to the Lord that the 
voyage might be for his holy service, and for the exalt- 
ing of his holy faith, and for the increase of the good 
and honor of the kingdom of Portugal. When the mass 
was ended, at which the good brothers and their associ- 
ates were present richly dressed, and to whom the king 
showed great honor and favor as they stood close to the 
curtain, where also were the principal lords of the realm 
and gentlemen of the court, the king came out from 
the curtain, and spoke to the captains who placed them- 
selves on their knees before him, and they spoke to him 
saying : " Sire, the honor we are receiving from your 
Highness is so great, that with a hundred bodies and 
lives, which we might expend in your service, we never 
could repay the least part of it, since greater honors 
were never shown by a sovereign to his vassals than you 
have done us as the great prince, king, and lord that 
you are, with such magnanimity and honor that, if at 
this moment we should die, our lineage would remain in 
the highest degree of honor which is possible, only be- 
cause your Highness has chosen and sent us for this 
work, whilst you have so many and such noble vassals 
to whom to commit it ; for which we are already recom- 
pensed before rendering this service, and until we end 



FAREWELL. 47 

our lives in performing it. For this we beg of the mercy 
of the Lord, that He direct us, and that He the Lord 
and your Highness, also may be served in some manner 
in this so great favor that has been shown us, as He 
knows that such is our desire ; and should we not be 
deserving to serve Him in this voyage, and so holy un- 
dertaking, may the Lord be pleased that we may pay 
with our lives for our shortcomings in the work. We 
promise your Highness that our lives will be the matters 
of least moment that we shall adventure in this so great 
favor that has been shown us, and that we will not return 
before your Highness with our lives in our bodies without 
bringing some certain information of that which your 
Highness desires.'' And they all again kissed the hands 
of the king and of the queen ; upon which the king came 
forth from the cathedral and went to his palace, which 
was then in the residence of the alcasbah in the castle. 
There went before him the captains, and before them the 
standard which was carried by their ensign in whom they 
trusted, and on arriving at the palace the king dis- 
missed them, and they again kissed his and the queen's 
hand. Vasco da Gama on a horse, with all the men of 
the fleet on foot, richly dressed in liveries, and accom- 
panied by all the gentlemen of the court, went down to 
the wharf on the bank, and embarked in their boats, and 
the standard went in that of Paulo da Gama. Then, 
taking leave of the gentlemen, they went to the ships, 
and on their arrival they fired all their artillery, and the 
ships were dressed out gayly with standards and flags, 
and many ornaments, and the royal standard was at 
once placed at the top of the mast of Paulo da Gama ; 
for so Vasco da Gama commanded, and, discharging all 
their artillery, they loosened the sails, and went beating 



48 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

to windward on the river of Lisbon, tacking until they 
came to anchor at Belem, where they remained three 
days waiting for a wind to go out. There they made a 
muster of the crews, where all confessed and communi- 
cated. The king commanded that they should write 
down in a book all the men of each ship by name, with 
the names of their fathers, mothers, and the wives of the 
married men, and the places of which they were natives ; 
and the king ordered that this book should be preserved 
in the House of the Mines, in order that the payments 
which were due should be made upon their return, be- 
cause the king ordered that a hundred cruzados should 
be paid to each of the married men, for them to leave it 
to their wives, and forty cruzados to each of the single 
men, for them to fit themselves out with certain things ; 
for, as to provisions, they had got to lay them in, for 
the ships were full of them ; and to the two brothers a 
gratification of two thousand cruzados to each of them, 
and a thousand to Nicolas Coelho. 

When it was the day of our Lady of March (the 25th), 
all heard mass; then they embarked, and loosed the 
sails, and went forth from the river, the king coming out 
to accompany them in his boat, and addressing them all 
with blessings and good wishes he took leave of them, 
his boat lying on its oars until they disappeared, as it is 
shown in the painting of this city of Lisbon. Vasco da 
Gama went in the ship "Sam Rafael," and Paulo da 
Gama in the ship " Sam Gabriel," and Nicolas Coelho 
in the other ship, " Sam Miguel ; " in each ship there 
were as many as eighty men, officers and seamen, and 
the others of his family, servants and relations, all filled 
with the desire to undertake the labor that was fitting for 
each, and with great trust in the favors which they hoped 
for from the king on their return to Portugal. . . . 



DISCO URA CEMENT. 49 

Having well ascertained this they stood out again to 
sea ; thus forcing the ships to windward, they went so 
far out to sea towards the south, that there was almost 
not six hours of sunlight in the day, and the wind was 
very powerful, so the sea was very fearful to see, with- 
out ever being smooth either by day or night ; but they 
always met with storms, so that the crews suffered much 
hardships. And after a month that they had run on 
this tack, they stood in to shore and went as long as 
they could, all praying to the Lord that they might have 
doubled beyond the land ; but when they again saw it, 
they were very sad, though they found themselves much 
advanced by the signs of the soundings which they had 
not before seen. Seeing that the coast ran out to sea, 
the masters and pilots were in great confusion, and 
doubtful of standing out again to sea, saying that that 
land went across the sea and had no end to it. This 
being heard of by Vasco da Gama (according, as it 
was, to the information he had from the Jew Qacuto), 
he told the pilots that they should not imagine such 
a thing, and that without doubt they would find the end 
of that land, and beyond it much sea and lands to run 
by, and he said to them : " I assure you that the cape is 
very near, and with another tack standing out to sea, 
when you return you will find the cape doubled.'' This 
Vasco da Gama said to encourage them, because he saw 
that they were much disheartened, and with the incHna- 
tion to wish to put back to Portugal. So he ordered 
them to put the ships about to sea, which they did much 
against their will ; for which reason Vasco da Gama de- 
termined to stand on this tack so long as to be able to 
double the end of the land ; and besought all not to take 
account of their labors, since for that purpose they had 

4 



50 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

ventured upon them; and that they should put their 
trust in the Lord that they would double the cape. 

Thus he gave them great encouragement, without ever 
sleeping or taking repose, but always taking part with 
them in hardship, coming up at the boatswain's pipe as 
they did. So they went on out to sea till they found it 
all broken up with the storm, with enormous waves and 
darkness. As the days were very short, it always seemed 
night ; the masts and shrouds were stayed, because with 
the fury of the sea the ships seemed every moment to 
be going to pieces. The crews grew sick with fear and 
hardship, because also they could not prepare their 
food, and all clamored for putting back to Portugal, and 
that they did not choose to die like stupid people who 
sought death with their own hands ; thus they made 
clamor and lamentation, of which there was much more 
in the other ships. But the captains excused them- 
selves, saying that they would do nothing except what 
Vasco da Gama did ; and he and his companions under- 
went great labor. 

As he was a very choleric man, at times with angry 
words he made them be silent, although he well saw 
how much reason they had at every moment to despair 
of their lives ; and they had been going for about two 
months on that tack, and the masters and pilots cried 
out to him to take another tack ; but the captain-major 
did not choose, though the ships were now letting in 
much water, by which their labors were doubled, be- 
cause the days were short and the nights long, which 
caused them increased fear of death ; and at this time 
they met with such cold rains that the men could not 
move. All cried to God for mercy upon their souls, 
for now they no longer took heed of their lives. It now 



THEY DOUBLE THE CAPE. 5 1 

seemed to Vasco da Gama that the time was come for 
making another tack, and he comported himself very 
angrily, swearing that if he did not double the cape, 
he would stand out to sea again as many times until 
the cape was doubled, or there should happen whatever 
should please God. For which reason from fear of this 
the masters took much more trouble to advance as much 
as they could, and they took more heart on nearing the 
land, and escaping from the tempest of the sea; and all 
called upon God for mercy, and to give them guidance, 
when they saw themselves out of such great dangers. 
Thus approaching the land, they found their labor less, 
and the seas calmer, so they went on running for a long 
time, steering so as to make the land and to ease the 
ships, which they were better able to do at night when 
the captain slept, which the other ships did also, as they 
followed the lantern which Vasco da Gama carried ; at 
night the ships showed lights to one another so as not 
to part company. Seeing how much they had run and 
did not find land, they sailed larger so as to make it ; 
and as they did not find it, and the sea and wind were 
moderate, they knew that they had doubled the cape ; on 
which great joy fell upon them, and they gave great 
praise to the Lord on seeing themselves delivered from 
death. The pilots continued to sail more free, spread- 
ing all the sails ; and, running in this manner, one morn- 
ing they sighted some mountain peaks which seemed to 
touch the clouds ; at which their pleasure was so great 
that all wept with joy, and all devoutly on their knees 
said the Salve, . . . 

Whilst these things were happening, the wind did not 
shift its direction, but the sea being smoother the ships 
were more easy, though they let in so much water that 



52 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

they never left off pumping. The captain-major saw 
this, and that the ships had an absolute need of repairs ; 
and also because they had no more water to drink, be- 
cause, with the tossing about in the storm, many barrels 
had broken and given way under such great pressure, 
he stood in to the land under sail, for the weather was 
moderate and was beginning to be favorable. All were 
praying to God for mercy, and that He would grant 
them a haven of safety ; which God was pleased to do 
in His mercy, for presently He showed them land, at 
which it seemed that all were resuscitated from the 
death which they looked upon as certain, if the ships 
were not repaired. After that the wind came free, and 
they sailed along the land for several days without find- 
ing where to put in; this was now in January of the year 
1498. Thus they ran close to the land, with a careful 
lookout, for they did not dare to leave the land, from 
the peril in which the ships were from the great leakage. 
Proceeding in this way, one day they found themselves 
at dawn in the mouth of a great river, into which the 
captain-major entered, for he always went first ; and all 
entered, and found within a large bay sheltered from all 
winds, in which they anchored, and all exclaimed three 
times, " The mercy of the Lord God ! " for which reason 
they gave this river the name of the River of Mercy. 
Here they soon caught much good fish, with which the 
sick improved, as it was fresh food, and the water of the 
river was very good. Now, at this time, in all the ships 
there were not more than a hundred and fifty men, for 
all the rest had died. Soon after arriving at this place, 
the captain-major went to see his brother and Nicolas 
Coelho, and they conversed, relating their hardships ; 
and Nicolas Coelho related the treason which his men 



l^REASON. 53 

were preparing, to take him prisoner and return to Por- 
tugal ; and they did not do it from the fear they had that 
the captain-major would follow after them, and, if he 
caught them, would have hung them all ; and they only 
waited for all to agree together to mutiny, and he had 
sought those feigned words which he had spoken, and it 
had pleased God that Vasco da Gama had understood 
them, so that, by his imprisoning his officers at once, all 
had remained secure. So all gave praise to the Lord for 
having delivered them from such great perils. Then 
they settled about refitting the ships, for they had all 
that was necessary for doing it. Although they had a 
beach and tides for laying the ships aground, for greater 
security it was ordered that they should be heeled over 
whilst afloat, and thus it was arranged for by all of 
them. While they were on the quarter-deck, Paulo da 
Gama entreated his brother to set the prisoners at lib- 
erty, which he did, setting free the sailors, and the mas- 
ter and pilot, with the condition that, if God should 
bring them back to Lisbon, when he went before the 
king, he would present them to him in the same manner 
in chains, not to do them any harm, but only that his 
difficulties might be credited, and for this he would give 
him greater favors ; at which all the crews felt much 
satisfaction. Afterwards they spoke with all the offi- 
cers, and arranged for careening the ships, and went to 
look at them. They found that there was no repairing 
the ship of Nicolas Coelho, as it had many of the knees 
and ribs broken. For that reason they at once decided 
to break it up ; and then they cut out its masts, and as 
much timber and planks of the upper works, which, with 
the yards and spars of the other ships lashed together 
and fastened, made a great frame which they put under 



54 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

the side of the ship to raise it more out of the water ; 
for this purpose they then discharged out from captain- 
major's ship into that of his brother, which was brought 
alongside, all that they could of the stores and goods ; 
and everything heavy below decks they put on one side 
of the ship, which caused it to heel over very much, and 
with the timber under the side, and the tackle fitted to 
the main-mast, they canted the ship over on one side 
that they laid her keel bare ; and on the outer side they 
put planks, upon which all the crew got to work at the 
ship, some cleaning the planks from the growth of sea- 
weed, others extracting the calking, which was quite 
rotten, from the seams ; and the calkers put in fresh 
oakum and then pitched it over, for they had a stove in 
a boat where they boiled the pitch. The captains were 
occupied with their own work day and night, and gave 
much food and drink to the crews, so that they used 
such despatch that in one day and one night, by morn- 
ing, they had finished one side of the ship, very well exe- 
cuted, though with great labor in drawing out the water 
from the ship, which leaked very much lying thus on 
one side. When she was upright, they turned her over 
on the other side, and did the same work much better 
performed, because the ship did not leak so much ; and 
when it was completed and the ship upright, it was so 
sound and water-tight that for two days there was no 
water in the pump. Then they loaded it again with its 
stores, and transshipped to it the stores of the other ship, 
upon which they executed the before-mentioned calk- 
ing and repairs so that it became new. They then 
fitted them inside with several knees and ribs and inner 
planking and all that was requisite, with great perfec- 
tion, and collected the yards, spars, and all that they 



THEY BURN THE ''SAM MIGUELP 55 

had need of belonging to the ship ''Sam Miguel''; and 
the captain-major took Nicolas Coelho on board of his 
ship, entertaining him well. They then took away from 
the ship much wood for their use, and beached the ship, 
and took away its rudder, and undid it, and stowed away 
its wood and iron works, in case of its being wanted for 
the other ships, because they had all been built of the 
same pattern and size, as a precaution that all might be 
able to take advantage of any part of them. Then they 
burned the ship in order to recover the nails, which 
were in great quantity, and a great advantage for other 
necessities which they met with later. . . . 

The king was staying at Sintrawhen there arrived one 
Arthur Rodriguez, a man married in the Isle of Terceira ; 
he had a caravel of his own ready to make a voyage to 
Algarve. He, seeing the ships come in, set sail without 
knowing whence they were coming, and so he passed by 
them under sail before they came to anchor, and asked 
whence they came, and they answered that they came 
from India. He at once made his course to Lisbon, 
where he arrived in four days, and entered Cascaes, and 
got into a small boat which was going ashore ; and he 
gave orders to a son of his, who came with him, not to 
let any one approach to communicate with his vessel, nor 
to say anything of the ships from India. Then Arthur 
Roiz, on reaching land, went at once with speed to Sin- 
tra, because the men of the skiff had told him that the 
king was there, and he set out and arrived there at one 
o'clock at night, and went to the king, who had just sat 
down at table to sup. Arthur Roiz took the king's hand 
and kissed it, saying, " Sire, I have kissed the hand of 
your Highness for the great favor which you will grant 
me for the so great and good news which I bring you. 



56 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

It is four days since I set out from Terceira, where I 
left two ships from India, for as I was coming under 
sail in a caravel of mine, I passed by them and inquired, 
and they told me that they came from India : and as 
it was such good news, I did not choose that another 
should come first and be before me in gaining the re- 
ward which I hope your Highness will give me.'* The 
king was not able to continue hearing him, but went off 
at once to the chapel which is within the palace, where 
he recited his orisons, and gave great praises to the 
Lord for the so great favor that had been vouchsafed to 
him. Upon this there was great excitement, and all the 
nobles flocked to the palace to give the king joy of his 
great satisfaction. The king took Arthur Roiz as a 
gentleman of his household, and his son as a page of 
the chamber, and gave him a gratification of a hundred 
cruzados, which the king's purser gave to him at once. 
The king then said to the nobles that he would start 
before morning for Lisbon to receive further messages 
which would come following after this one, and, in case 
the ships came, the better to see them enter Lisbon. 
The king arrived there the next day at dinner-time, and 
another message reached him, which came to win the re- 
ward of good news, and which told the king all the news 
of how Vasco da Gama had arrived with his crews dead 
and sick, and that Paulo da Gama had thus arrived, and 
that he had died shortly after his arrival ; at which the 
king showed grief, and said, "I should greatly rejoice if 
Vasco da Gama had come before me with his satisfaction 
complete, so as not to deprive me of any portion of mine 
which I now enjoy." The king gave a reward to the 
messenger for what he related, which was that, as soon 
as they were prepared with what they required, the ships 



ARRIVAL AT LISBON. 57 

would set out, because they came with great labor at the 
pumps, from which the seamen never desisted, for the 
ships had opened their seams with the calms which they 
met with off Guinea, and with the hard work at the 
pumps the crews had fallen sick and died, but that many 
people of the island were coming in the ships, and many 
vessels were coming with them, which would arrive with 
them at Lisbon. With this great pleasure the king 
waited until the ships arrived at the bar, where there 
were boats with pilots who were waiting for them, and 
who at once brought them in dressed out with flags, 
while the king was looking on from the House of Mines, 
which afterwards became the India House. The ships, 
on coming to anchor, fired a salute with their artillery, 
and the king sent immediately Jorge de Vasconcelos, 
overseer of the armory of Lisbon, a chief nobleman of 
his household, to visit Vasco da Gama, and to say to 
him that the king hoped his coming would be as happy 
as the pleasure which he himself felt on account of it ; 
but that the king's pleasure was much diminished by 
the great grief which he experienced for the death of 
his brother ; but seeing the great favor which the Lord 
had granted to him, and looking well at one circum- 
stance and the other, he ought to lay aside his grief, at 
which the king would be much pleased, and that he 
should disembark shortly. After this many friends and 
relations came to the ship to visit Vasco da Gama, and 
they entreated him much not to go before the king with 
such grief and mourning as he showed, and to have 
regard for the message which the king had sent. He 
consulted as to this with all his friends, and he dressed 
himself in a close-fitting tunic of silk {solid), and a rough 
barret-cap, which looked well, and he wore his beard 



58 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

very long, for he had never cut it since he had departed 
from Lisbon. Vasco da Gama landed on the beach in 
front of the houses, where he was received by all the 
nobles of the court, and by the Count of Borba and the 
Bishop Calgadilha, and he went between those two be- 
fore the king, who, when he arrived, rose up from his 
chair and did him great honor. 



III. 

MAGALHAENS AND THE PACIFIC. 

BEDFORD had drawn out quite a large map of the 
world, on Mercator's projection. It had America 
on the east and Europe on the west, with the Pacific 
Ocean between them. 

Bedford said he thought this would clear his head. 
The maps generally put the Atlantic in the middle. But 
Bedford said he should try it the other way. 

"Perhaps," said Uncle Fritz, "the Pacific is to be the 
centre of the civilization of the future. The Mediterra- 
nean Sea has long since ceased to be the sea of the 
* middle of the world,' though that is what its name 
means. The Atlantic has been the Middle-of-the-World 
Sea for three centuries." 

Bedford was pleased at Uncle Fritz's interest in his 
map, and so he asked why the Pacific Ocean should not 
be the next middle of the world. 

" I do not know but it will be," said Uncle Fritz. 
" It is a subject on which I have thought a great deal. 
Here is this great energetic Australia, a country of large 
men and great possibilities; here are Chile, California, 
and Oregon ; and here is this very efficient Japan, a 
country which has done many things in the last sixty 
years which were never done before. 



6o STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

"On the other hand, China is badly behind, with a 
very poor race of men, who have a very poor language. 

''Wise men will tell you that nothing can be done in 
China, with so poor a language. 

"And you must observe, on the map, that on the 
American side the large rivers flow into the Atlantic. 

" Now, though the Pacific Ocean is very large, it is men 
who win, not space. If you will measure from the ridge 
of the Rocky Mountains or the Andes eastward to these 
ridges in Asia and Africa, which part the Atlantic and 
Pacific basins, you will see that there is more room for 
men in the Atlantic basin than there is in the Pacific. 

" When your friend, Mr. Hale, finishes his * History 
of the Pacific Ocean and its Shores,' we shall know 
more about such things." 

"But to-day/' said Hester, "we are to know more 
about them. For it is Magalhaens who really discovers 
the Pacific, is it not ? " 

" Yes/' said Uncle Fritz. " And I think he is fairly a 
discoverer of your first class. Here they were, all per- 
suaded that Columbus had hit on the East Indies. He 
thought so. Thirty years after, Cortes thought so. Ma- 
galhaens undeceived Europe. He gave his life to his 
discovery. I think he is a great discoverer, and one of 
the great men. 

" He was born in Portugal. They do not really know 
where. He was of good family, and in young life was 
in the queen's household. Early in life he went out to 
the East Indies, and there he served in one of the Por- 
tuguese establishments. He came back in 15 12, with 
some complaints of mismanagement, which lost him the 
favor of the king. He had already conceived his plan 
of going to the East by the way of the West. 




FERDINAND MAGELLAN 



MAGALHAENS AND THE PACIFIC. 6 1 

" When the King of Portugal repulsed him, he went to 
Spain and offered his plan and his service to Charles V. 
Charles encouraged him. Pope Alexander had already 
divided the world between the two crowns of Spain and 
Portugal, and Magalhaens explained to Charles that 
under this grant he could maintain claims in the East 
Indies. 

" After endless difficulties he sailed, Sept. 3, 1519, with 
five vessels and two hundred and thirty men in all, for 
Rio Janeiro, on the coast of Brazil. They wintered (be- 
tween March and September, but south of the equator) 
in a bay which he called the Bay of St. Juhan. Here 
they had a horrible mutiny, which Magalhaens sup- 
pressed. On the 24th of August, 1520, they sailed 
again. He gave orders that they should sail as far as 
75° south, if they did not find the passage." 

" That was plucky," said Bedford in admiration. His 
map-drawing had taught him that nobody had ever gone 
so far, until our own time. 

" If in that space they did not find the strait, which he 
said he was sure existed, they were to go to the Moluc- 
cas by the Cape of Good Hope. 

"But, as you know, they did find it in latitude 52° 
south, or thereabouts. Magalhaens entered it on the 
i8th of October, and w^orked through it in twenty days. 
Many a seaman since has had worse luck, until the 
days of steam. Stephen Gomez, one of his captains, 
deserted him here ; but with three ships he sailed on. 

" Remember, that none of them knew how large the 
world was. All of them thought it much smaller than 
it is. There are maps of that time where the strait 
between Western Mexico and Japan, of which Marco 
Polo had told them, is not sixty miles across. 



62 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

"And yet these fine fellows sailed and sailed and 
sailed. They lighted on the Ladrones, which they called 
'The islands of Velas Latinas/ and a few days after, 
the great discovery was complete. They plunged into 
what they called the Archipelago of St. Lazarus. 

" This was the first which Europeans, whom they then 
called Christians, knew of our famous Philippine Islands. 
The voyage which Magalhaens made is for every reason 
the most celebrated in history, excepting the great first 
voyage by Columbus." 

After this little lecture by Uncle Fritz the children 
broke into groups and began reading. Here are some 
of their extracts to tempt the reader to look for more. 

" Uncle Fritz," said Sibyl, as they went in to supper, 
"does our game of Philippine, where you share a dou- 
ble almond with a friend, come from the Philippine 
Islands?" 

" Some people think so," said the Colonel. 

"I do." 

"Others think it is Philopoena (a friendly penalty), 
by a combination of very bad Greek with intelligible 
Latin." 

NAVIGATION AND VOYAGE WHICH FERNANDO DE 
MAGELHAESi MADE FROM SEVILLE TO MA- 
LUCO IN THE YEAR 1519. 

BY A GENOESE PILOT. 

He sailed from Seville on the tenth day of August of 
the said year, and remained at the bar until the twenty- 
first day of September ; and as soon as he got outside he 

1 We follow the custom of all the volumes of this series, in taking the 
spelling of the particular authority cited. The spelling is often character- 
istic of the author, his country, or his time. Magellan is the Anglicized 
form of Magalhaens. 



ACROSS THE ATLANTIC, 63 

Steered to the southward to make the Island of Teneriffe, 
and they reached the said island on the day of St. 
Michael, which was on the 29th of September. Thence 
he made his course to fetch the Cape Verd Islands, 
and they passed between the islands and the cape with- 
out sighting either the one or the other. Having got 
as far as this neighborhood, he shaped his course so as 
to make for Brazil ; and as soon as he sighted the other 
coast of Brazil he steered to the southeast along the 
coast as far as Cabo-frio, which is in twenty-three de- 
grees south latitude ; and from this cape he steered to 
the west a matter of thirty leagues to make the Rio de 
Janeiro, which is in the same latitude as Cabo-frio, and 
they entered the said Rio on the day of St. Lucy, which 
was the 13th of December, in which place they took in 
wood, and they remained there until the first octave of 
Christmas, which was the 26th of December of the same 
year. They sailed from this Rio de Janeiro on the 26th 
December, and navigated along the coast to make the 
Cape of St. Mary, which is in thirty-four degrees and 
two thirds ; as soon as they sighted it, they made their 
course west-northwest, thinking they would find a pas- 
sage for their voyage, and they found that they had got 
into a great river of fresh water, to which they gave the 
name of the River of St. Christopher, and it is in thirty- 
four degrees, and they remained in it till the 2d of 
February, 1520. 

He sailed from this River of St. Christopher on the 
2d of the said month of February ; and they navigated 
along the said coast, and farther on to the south they 
discovered a point which is in the same river more to 
the south, to which they gave the name of Point St. 
Anthony ; it is in thirty-six degrees ; hence they ran to * 



64 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

the southwest a matter of twenty-five leagues and made 
another cape, which they named Cape St. Apelonia, 
which is in thirty-six degrees ; thence they navigated to 
the west-southwest to some shoals, which they named 
the Shoals of the Currents, which are in thirty-nine 
degrees ; and thence they navigated out to sea, and 
lost sight of land for a matter of two or three days, 
when they again made for the land, and they came to 
a bay, which they entered and ran within it for the 
whole day, thinking that there was the outlet to Maluco, 
and when night came they found it was quite closed up, 
and in the same night they again stood out by the way 
which they had come in. This is in thirty-four degrees ; 
they named it the Bay of St. Matthew. They navigated 
from this Bay of St. Matthew along the coast until they 
reached another bay, where they caught many sea- 
wolves and birds ; to this they gave the name of the 
" Bay of Labors ; " it is in thirty-seven degrees ; here 
they were near losing the flagship in a storm. Thence 
they navigated along the said coast, and arrived on the 
last day of March of the year 1520 at the port of St. 
Julian, which is in forty-nine and one third degrees, and 
here they wintered, and found the day a little more or 
less than seven hours. 

In this port three of the ships rose up against the 
captain-major, their captains saying that they intended 
to take him to Castile in arrest, as he was taking them 
all to destruction. Here, through the exertions of the 
same captain-major, and the assistance and favor of 
the foreigners whom he carried with him, the captain- 
major went to the said three ships which were already 
mentioned, and there the captain of one of them was 
killed, who was the treasurer of the whole fleet, and 



PORT ST. JULIAN. 65 

named Luis de Mendoga; he was killed in his own 
ship by stabs with a dagger by the chief constable of 
the fleet, who was sent to do this by Fernando de 
Magelhaes in a boat with certain men. The said three 
ships having thus been recovered, five days later Fer- 
nando de Magelhaes ordered Caspar de Queixada to be 
decapitated and quartered ; he was captain of one of the 
ships, and was one of those who had mutinied. 

In this port they refitted the ship. Here the captain- 
major made Alvaro de Mesquita, a Portuguese, captain 
of one of the ships the captain of which had been killed. 
There sailed from this port on the 24th of August four 
ships, for the smallest of the ships had been already lost ; 
he had sent it to reconnoitre, and the weather had been 
heavy, and had cast it ashore, where all the crew had 
been recovered, along with the merchandise, artillery, 
and fitting of the ship. They remained in this port in 
which they wintered, five months and twenty-four days. 

They sailed on the twenty-fourth day of the month of 
August of the said year from this port of St. Julian, and 
navigated a matter of twenty leagues along the coast, 
and so they entered a river which is called Santa Cruz, 
which is in fifty degrees, where they took in goods and 
as much as they could obtain ; the crew of the lost ship 
were already distributed among the other ships, for they 
had returned by land to where Fernando de Magelhaes 
was, and they continued collecting the goods which had 
remained there during August and up to the i8th of 
September, and there they took in water and much fish, 
which they caught in the river. . . . 

They sailed from this river of Santa Cruz on the i8th 
of October ; they continued navigating along the coast 
until the twenty-first day of the same month, October, 



66 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

when they discovered a cape, to which they gave the name 
of Cape of the Virgins, because they sighted it on the day 
of the eleven thousand virgins ; it is in fifty-two degrees, 
a little more or less, and from this cape a matter of two 
or three leagues distance, they found themselves at the 
mouth of a strait. They sailed along the said coast 
within that strait which they had reached the mouth of ; 
they entered in it a little and anchored. Fernando de 
Magelhaes sent to discover what there was farther in, 
and they found three channels, that is to say, two more 
in a southerly direction and one traversing the country 
in the direction of Maluco, but at that time this was not 
yet known, only the three mouths were seen. The boats 
went thither and brought back word ; and they set sail 
and anchored at these mouths of the channels, and Fer- 
nando de Magelhaes sent two ships to learn what was 
within, and these ships went ; one returned to the cap- 
tain-major, and the other, of which Alvaro de Mesquita 
was captain, entered into one of the bays which was to 
the south, and did not return any more. Fernando de 
Magelhaes, seeing that it did not come back, set sail, 
and the next day he did not choose to make for the 
bays, and went to the south, and took another which 
runs northwest and southeast, and a quarter west and 
east. He left letters in the place from which he sailed, 
so that if the other ship returned it might make the 
course he left prescribed. After this they entered into 
the channel, which at some places has a width of three 
leagues, and two, and one, and in some places half a 
league, and he w^ent through as long as it was daylight, 
and anchored when it was night ; and he sent the boats, 
and the ships went after the boats, and they brought 
news that there was an outlet, for they already saw the 



THE STRAITS. 6/ 

great sea on the other side ; on which account Fer- 
nando de Magelhaes ordered much artillery to be fired 
for rejoicing j and before they went forth from this 
strait they found two islands, the first one larger, and 
the other nearer toward the outlet is the smaller one : 
and they went out between these islands and the coast 
on the other side, as it was deeper than on the other 
side. This strait is a hundred leagues in length to the 
outlet ; that outlet and the entrance are in fifty-two de- 
grees latitude. 

In the same book ^ the boys had found other accounts, 
from which they read several extracts. 

Ferdinand Magellan went to Castile to the port of 
Seville, where he married the daughter of a man of 
importance, with the design of navigating on the sea, 
because he was very learned in the art of pilots, which 
is that of the sphere. The emperor kept the House of 
Commerce in Seville, with the overseers of the treasury, 
with great powers, and much seafaring traffic, and fleets 
for abroad. Magellan, bold with his knowledge, and 
with the readiness which he had to annoy the King of 
Portugal, spoke to the overseers of the House of Com- 
merce, and told them that Malacca and Maluco, the 
islands in which cloves grew, belonged to the emperor 
on account of the demarcation drawn between them 
both [the Kings of Spain and Portugal], for which 
reason the King of Portugal wrongfully possessed these 
lands ; and that he would make this certain before all 
the doctors who might contradict him, and would pledge 
his head for it. The overseers replied to him, that they 

1 " The First Voyage Round the W^orld by Magellan." Printed for the 
Hakluyt Society. 



68 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

well knew that he was speaking truth, and that the em- 
peror also knew it, but that the emperor had no naviga- 
tion to that part, because he could not navigate through 
the sea within the demarcation of the King of Portugal. 
Magellan said to them : "• If you would give me ships 
and men, I would show you navigation to those parts, 
without touching any sea or land of the King of Por- 
tugal ; and if not they might cut off his head." The 
overseers, much pleased at this, wrote it to the emperor, 
who answered them that he had much pleasure in the 
speech, and would have much more in the deed ; and 
that they were to do everything to carry out his service, 
and the affairs of the King of Portugal, which were not 
to be meddled with ; rather than that everything should 
be lost. With this answer from the emperor, they spoke 
wdth Magellan, and became much more convinced, by 
what he said, that he would navigate and show a course 
outside the seas of the King of Portugal ; and that if 
they gave him the ships he asked for, and men and 
artillery, he would fulfil what he had said, and would 
discover new lands which were in the demarcation of 
the emperor, from which he would bring gold, cloves, 
cinnamon, and other riches. The overseers hearing 
this, with a great desire to render so great a service to 
the emperor as the discovery of this navigation, and to 
make this matter more certain, brought together pilots 
and men learned in the sphere, to dispute on the matter 
with Magellan, who gave such reasons to all that they 
all agreed with what he said, and affirmed that he was 
a very learned man. So the overseers at once made 
agreements with him, and arrangements, and powers, 
and regulations, which they sent to the emperor, who 
confirmed everything, reserving especially the naviga- 



THE EXPEDITION, 69 

tion of the King of Portugal ; thus he commanded and 
prohibited and ordered that everything which Magellan 
asked for should be given him. On this account Magel- 
lan went to Burgos, where the emperor was, and kissed 
his hand ; and the emperor gave him a thousand cru- 
zados, alimony for the expenses of his wife whilst he 
was on his voyage, set down in the rolls of Seville ; and 
he gave him power of life and death over all persons 
who went in the fleet, of which he should be captain- 
major, with regard to which he assigned him large 
powers. So, on his return from Seville, they equipped 
for him five small ships, such as he asked for, equipped 
and armed as he chose, with four hundred men-at-arms, 
and they were laden with the merchandise which he 
asked for. The overseers told him to give the captain- 
cies, with regard to which he excused himself, saying 
that he was new in the country and did not know the 
men ; and that they should seek out men who would be 
good and faithful in the emperor's service, and who 
would rejoice to endure hardships in his service, and 
the bad life which they would have to go through in the 
voyage. The overseers were obliged to him for this, 
and held it to be good advice, and decided to inform 
the captains that they might make, and the crews that 
they might take, of the powers which he had received 
from the emperor. This they did, and they sought in 
Seville for trustworthy men for captains, who were Juan 
de Cartagena, Luis de Mendoga, Juan Serrano, Pero de 
Quesada. This fleet having been fitted out, and the 
crew paid for six months, he sailed from San Lucar de 
Barrameda in August of the year 1519. . . . 

From this place [Rio de Janeiro] they went on sailing 
until they reached the Cape of Santa Maria, which Joan 



70 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

of Lisbon had discovered in the year 1514; thence they 
went to the river San Julian. While they were here, 
taking in water and wood, Juan de Cartagena, who was 
sub-captain-major, agreed with the other captains to rise 
up, saying that Magellan had got them betrayed and en- 
trapped. As they understood that Caspar de Quesada 
was a friend of Magellan's, Juan de Cartagena got into 
his boat at night, with twenty men, and went to the ship 
of Caspar Quesada, and went in to speak to him, and 
took him prisoner, and made a relation of his captain of 
the ship, in order that all three might go at once on 
board Magellan and kill him, and after that they would 
reduce the ship of Juan Serrano, and would take the 
money and goods, which they would hide, and would 
return to the emperor, and would tell him that Magellan 
had got them entrapped and deceived, having broken 
faith with his instructions, since he was navigating in 
the seas and countries of the King of Portugal ; for 
which deed they would get first a safe-conduct from the 
emperor. So they arranged matters for their treason, 
which turned out ill for them. 

Magellan had some suspicion of this matter, and be- 
fore this should happen he sent his skiff to the ships to 
tell the captains that the masters were to arrange their 
ships for beaching them to careen them ; and with this 
pretext he warned a servant of his to notice what the 
captains answered. When this skiff came to the revolted 
ships, they did not let it come alongside, saying that 
they would not execute any orders except those of Juan 
de Cartagena, who was their captain-major. The skiff 
having returned with this answer, Magellan spoke to 
Ambrosio Fernandes, his chief constable, a valiant man, 
and gave him orders what he was to do, and to go 



THE MUTINY CRUSHED, 71 

secretly armed ; and he sent a letter to Luis de Mendoga 
by him, with six men in the skiff, whom the chief con- 
stable selected. And the current set toward the ships, 
and Magellan ordered his master to bend a long hawser, 
with which he might drop down to the ships, if it suited 
him. All being thus arranged, the skiff went, and com- 
ing alongside of Luis de Mendoga, they would not let 
him come on board. So the chief constable said to the 
captain that it was weakness not to bid him enter, as he 
was one man alone, who was bringing a letter. Upon 
which the captain bade him enter. He came on board, 
and giving him the letter, took him in his arms, shout- 
ing, " On behalf of the emperor, you are arrested ! " At 
this the men of the skiff came on board with their 
swords drawn ; then the chief constable cut the throat 
of Luis de Mendoga with a dagger, for he held him 
thrown down under him, for so Magellan had given him 
orders. Upon this a tumult arose, and Magellan, hear- 
ing it, ordered the hawser to be paid out, and with his 
ship dropped down upon the other ships, with his men 
under arms and the artillery in readiness. On reaching 
the ship of Mendoga, he ordered six men to be hung at 
the yard-arms, who had risen up against the chief con- 
stable, and these were seized upon by the sailors of the 
ship, of which he at once made captain Duarte Barbosa, 
a Portuguese, and a friend of his \ and he ordered the 
corpse of Mendoga to be hung up by the feet, that they 
might see him from the other ships. He then ordered 
Barbosa to prepare the men for going and boarding one 
of the other ships ; and to avoid doing the harm which it 
was in its power to have done, and since he was a Portu- 
guese, and the crews belonged to the emperor, he used 
a stratagem, and spoke secretly to a sailor whom he 



72 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

trusted, who fled to the ship of Cartagena, where, at 
night, when the current set for Magellan's ship, which 
was astern, the sailor, seeing his opportunity, cut the 
cable or loosed the ship of Cartagena, so that it drifted 
upon that of Magellan, who came up, shouting, " Trea- 
son ! treason ! '' Upon which he entered the ship of 
Cartagena, and took him and his men prisoners, and 
made captain of the ship one Alvaro de Mesquita, whom 
Cartagena had arrested and put in irons, because he 
found fault with him for the mutiny which he was mak- 
ing. Seeing this, the other ship at once surrendered, 
He ordered Cartagena to be quartered, having him pub- 
licly cried as a traitor ; and the body of Luis de Mendoga 
also was quartered ; and he ordered the quarters and the 
executed men to be set on shore, spitted on poles. So 
the Castilians had great fear of him, for he kept the 
mutineers prisoners in irons, and set to the pumps, dur- 
ing three months that he remained in this river^ in which 
he careened and refitted his vessel very well. 

When he was about to set sail, he ordered the prison- 
ers to be set at liberty, and pardoned them, and he sent 
them to go along the shore, following the bank of tlie 
river until they found the headland from which they 
could see the sea on the other side ; and whoever re- 
turned to him with this news he would give him a hun- 
dred ducats as a reward for good news. These men 
went for more than forty leagues, and returned without 
news ; and they brought back two men, fifteen spans 
high, from a village which they found. He then sent 
Serrano, because his vessel was the smallest, to go along 
the river to discover its extremity ; and he went with a 
strong current which carried him without wind. And, 
going along thus, his ship grounded on some rocks, on 



EXPEDITION TO MA TAN. 73 

which it was lost, and the boat returned laden with the 
crew. Magellan sent the boats thither, and they saved 
everything, so that only the hull was lost. . . . 

THE DEATH OF MAGELLAN AND THE VOYAGE 
HOME. 

Friday, the 26th of April (152 1), Zula, who was one of 
the principal men, or chiefs, of the Island of Matan, sent 
to the captain a son of his with two goats to make a pres- 
ent of them, and to say that if he did not do all that 
he had promised, the cause of that was another chief 
named Silapulapu, who would not in any way obey the 
King of Spain, and had prevented him from doing so j 
but that if the captain would send him the following 
night one boat full of men to give him assistance, he 
would fight and subdue his rival. On the receipt of this 
message, the captain decided to go himself with three 
boats. We entreated him much not to go to this en- 
terprise in person ; but he, as a good shepherd, would 
not abandon his flock. 

We set out from Tubu at midnight. We were sixty 
men, armed with corselets and helmets ; there were with 
us the Christian king, the prince, and some of the chief 
men, and many others divided among twenty or thirty 
balangai. We arrived at Matan three hours before 
daylight. The captain, before attacking, wished to at- 
tempt gentle means, and sent on shore the Moorish 
merchant to tell those islanders who were of the party 
of Silapulapu that, if they would recognize the Christian 
king as their sovereign, and obey the King of Spain, 
and pay us the tribute which had been asked, the cap- 
tain would become their friend, otherwise we should 



74 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

prove how our lances wounded. The islanders were not 
terrified ; they replied that if we had lances, so also had 
they, although only of reeds, and wood hardened with 
fire. They asked, however, that we should not attack 
them by night, but wait for daylight, because they were 
expecting reinforcements, and would be in greater num- 
ber. This they said with cunning, to excite us to attack 
them by night, supposing that we were ready ; but they 
wished this, because they had dug ditches between their 
houses and the beach, and they hoped that we should 
fall into them. 

We, however, waited for daylight : we then leaped 
into the water up to our thighs, for, on account of the 
shallow water and the rocks, the boat could not come 
close to the beach^ and we had to cross two good cross- 
bow shots through the water before reaching it. We 
were forty-nine in number; the other eleven remained in 
charge of the boats. When we reached land, we found 
the islanders, fifteen hundred in number, drawn up in 
three squadrons ; they came down upon us with terrible 
shouts, two squadrons attacking us on the flanks, and 
the third in front. The captain then divided his men 
in two bands. Our musketeers and cross-bowmen fired 
for half an hour from a distance, but did nothing, since 
the bullets and arrows, though they passed through 
their shields made of thin wood, and perhaps wounded 
their arms, yet did not stop them. The captain shouted 
not to fire, but he was not listened to. The islanders, 
seeing that the shots of our guns did them little harm, 
would not retire, but shouted more loudly, and springing 
from one side to the other to avoid our shots, they at 
the same time drew nearer to us, throwing arrows, jave- 
lins, spears hardened in fire, stones, and even mud, so 



DEATH OF MAGELLAN. 75 

that we could hardly defend ourselves. Some of them 
cast lances pointed with iron at the captain-general. 

He then, in order to disperse this multitude and to 
terrify them, sent some of our men to set fire to their 
houses ; but this rendered them more ferocious. Some 
of them ran to the fire, which consumed twenty or thirty 
houses, and there killed two of our men. The rest came 
down upon us with greater fury ; they perceived that 
our bodies were defended, but that our legs were ex- 
posed, and they aimed at them principally. The cap- 
tain had his right leg pierced by a poisoned arrow, on 
which account he gave orders to retreat by degrees ; 
but almost all our men took to precipitate flight, so that 
there remained hardly six or eight of us with him. We 
were oppressed by the lances and stones which the en- 
emy hurled at us, and we could make no more resistance. 
The bombards which we had in the boats were of no 
assistance to us, for the shoal water kept them too far 
from the beach. We went thither^ retreating little by 
little, and still fighting, and we had already got to the 
distance of a cross-bow shot from the shore, having the 
water up to our knees, the islanders following and pick- 
ing up again the spears which they had already cast, 
and they threw the same spear five or six times ; as they 
knew the captain, they aimed especially at him, and 
twice they knocked the helmet off his head. He, with 
a few of us, like a good knight, remained at his post 
without choosing to retreat further. Thus we fought 
for more than an hour, until an Indian succeeded in 
thrusting a cane lance into the captain^s face. He then, 
being irritated, pierced the Indian's breast with his 
lance, and left it in his body, and, trying to draw his 
sword, he was unable to draw it more than half way, on 



;^6 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

account of a javelin wound which he had received in the 
right arm. The enemies, seeing this, all rushed against 
him, and one of them with a great sword, like a great 
scimetar, gave him a great blow on the left leg, which 
brought the captain down on his face; then the Indians 
threw themselves upon him, and ran him through with 
lances and scimetars, and all the other arms which they 
had, so that they deprived of life our mirror, light, com- 
fort, and true guide. Whilst the Indians were thus over- 
powering him, several times he turned round towards us 
to see if we were all in safety, as though his obstinate 
fight had no other object than to give an opportunity for 
the retreat of his men. We who fought to extremity, 
and who were covered with wounds, seeing that he was 
dead, proceeded to the boats, which were on the point 
of going away. This fatal battle was fought on the 
27th of April of 152 1, on a Saturday, — a day which the 
captain had chosen himself, because he had a special 
devotion to it. There perished with him eight of our 
men, and four of the Indians, who had become Chris- 
tians ; we had also many wounded, amongst whom I must 
reckon myself. The enemy lost only fifteen men. 

He died ; but I hope that your illustrious highness will 
not allow his memory to be lost, so much the more since 
I see revived in you the virtue of so great a captain, since 
one of his principal virtues was Constance in the most 
adverse fortune. In the midst of the sea he was able 
to endure hunger better than we. Most versed in nau- 
tical charts, he knew better than any other the true art 
of navigation, of which it is a certain proof that he knew 
by his genius and his intrepidity, without any one having 
given him the example, how to attempt the circuit of the 
globe, which he had almost completed. • . . 



ARRIVAL OF MALUCO, yy 

Wednesday, the 6th of November, having passed be- 
yond these two islands, we discovered four other rather 
higher islands at a distance of fourteen leagues towards 
the east. The pilot who had remained with us told us 
that these were the Maluco Islands, for which we gave 
thanks to God, and to comfort ourselves we discharged 
all our artillery. It need not cause wonder that we were 
so much rejoiced, since we had passed twenty-seven 
months less two days always in search of Maluco, wan- 
dering for that object among an immense number of 
islands. But I must say that near all these islands the 
least depth that we found was one hundred fathoms ; for 
which reason attention is not to be given to all that the 
Portuguese have spread, according to whom the Islands 
of Maluco are situated in seas which cannot be navi- 
gated on account of the shoals, and the dark and foggy 
atmosphere. 

Friday, the 8th of November of 152 1, three hours 
before sunset, we entered a port of the island called 
Tadore, and having gone near the shore, we cast anchor 
in twenty fathoms, and discharged all our artillery. 
Next day the king came to our ships in a prahu, and 
went round them. We w^ent to meet him in a boat to 
show him honor, and he made us enter his prahu and 
sit near him. He was sitting under a silk umbrella, 
which sheltered him. In front of him was his son with 
the royal sceptre; there were also two men with gold 
vases to give him water for his hands, and two others 
with gilt caskets full of betel. 

The king gave us a welcome, and said that a long 
time back he had dreamed that some ships were coming 
to Maluco from distant countries, and that, to assure 
himself with respect to this, he had examined the moon, 



78 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

and he had seen that they were really coming, and that 
indeed they were our ships. After that he came on 
board our ships, and we all kissed his hand ; we then 
conducted him to the poop, but he, in order to avoid 
stooping, would not enter the cabin except by the upper 
opening. We made him sit down on a chair of red vel- 
vet, and placed on him a Turkish robe of yellow velvet. 
In order to do him more honor we sat down before him 
on the ground. When he had heard who we were, and 
what was the object of our voyage, he said that he and 
all his people were well content to be the most faithful 
friends and vassals of the King of Spain ; that he re- 
ceived us in this island as his own sons ; that we might 
go on shore and remain there as in our own houses ; 
and that his island for the future should not be named 
Tadore, but Castile, in proof of the great love he bore 
to the king our master. Then we presented to him the 
chair on which he sat, and the robe which we had put 
on him, a piece of fine linen, four ells of scarlet cloth, 
a robe of brocade, a cloth of yellow damask, a piece of 
the whitest Cambay linen, two caps, six strings of glass 
beads, twelve knives, three large mirrors, six scissors, 
six combs, some gilt goblets, and other things. We gave 
to his son an Indian cloth of gold and silk, a large mir- 
ror, a cap, and two knives. To each of the nine chief 
men of his suite we made a present of a piece of 
silk, a cap, and two knives; and to many others of 
his suite we made a present, to one of a cap, to another 
of a knife, until the king told us not to give any more 
presents. He then said that he had got nothing 
worthy to be sent as a present to our king, unless he 
sent himself, now that he considered him as his lord. 
He invited us to come closer to the city ; and if any 



THE KING OF MA LUC O. 79 

one attempted to come on board the ships at night, he 
told us to fire upon him with our guns. He came out 
of the stern cabin by the same way by which he had 
entered it, without ever bending his head. At his de- 
parture we fired all our cannon. 

This king is a Moor, of about forty-five years of age, 
rather well made, and of a handsome presence. He is 
a very great astrologer. His dress consisted of a shirt 
of very fine white stuff, with the ends of the sleeves 
embroidered with gold, and a wrapper which came down 
from his waist almost to the ground. He was bare- 
footed; round his head he had a silk veil, and over 
that a garland of flowers. He is named Raja Sultan 
Manzor. 

On the loth of November, a Sunday, we had another 
conversation with the king, who wished to know how 
long a time we had been absent from Spain, and what 
rations the king gave to each of us ; and we told him 
all this. He asked us for a signature of the king and a 
royal standard, since he desired that both his Island of 
Tadore, and also that of Taranete (where he intended to 
have his nephew, named Calanogapi, crowned king), 
should become subject to the King of Spain, for whose 
honor he w^ould fight to the death ; and if it should hap- 
pen that he should be compelled to give way, he would 
take refuge in Spain with all his family, in a new junk 
which he was having constructed, and would take with 
him the royal signature and standard. 

He begged us to leave with him some of our men, who 
would always keep alive his recollection of us and of 
our king, as he would more esteem having some of us 
with him than our merchandise, which would not last 
him a long time. Seeing our eagerness to take cloves 



80 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

on board, he said that for that purpose he would go to 
an island called Bachian, where he hoped to find as 
much of them as were wanted, since in his island there 
was not a quantity sufficient of dry cloves to load the 
two ships. On that day there was no traffic, because it was 
Sunday. The holiday of these people is on Friday. . . . 

Wednesday morning everything was prepared for our 
departure from Maluco. The kings of Tadore, of Giai- 
lolo, and of Bachian, and a son of the King of Tarenete 
had come to accompany us as far as the Island of Mare. 
The ship " Victoria " made sail and stood out a little, 
waiting for the ship " Trinity '' ] but she had much diffi- 
culty in getting up the anchor, and meanwhile the sailors 
perceived that she was leaking in the hold. Then the 
*' Victoria '' returned to anchor in her former position. 
They began to discharge the cargo of the " Trinity " to 
see if the leak could be stopped, for it was perceived 
that the water came in with force as through a pipe ; but 
we were never able to find out at what part it came in. 
All that day and the next we did nothing else but work 
at the pumps, but without any advantage. 

Hearing this, the King of Tadore came at once to the 
ships, and occupied himself with us in searching for the 
leak. For this purpose he sent into the sea five of his 
men, who were accustomed to remain a long time under 
the water ; and although they remained more than half an 
hour, they could not find the fissure. As the water inside 
the ship continually increased, the king, who was as much 
affected by it as we were, and lamenting this misfortune, 
sent to the end of the island for three other men, more 
skilful than the first at remaining under water. 

He came with them early the next morning. These 
men dived under water with their hair loose, thinking 



PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 8 1 

that their hair, attracted by the water which penetrated 
into the ship, would indicate to them the leak; but though 
they remained more than an hour in the water, they did 
not find it. The king, seeing that there was no remedy 
for it, said with lamentation, " Who will go to Spain to 
take news of me to the king our lord ? " We answered 
him that the "Victoria'' would go there, and would sail 
at once, to take advantage of the east winds, which had 
already commenced. The " Trinity,'' meanwhile, would 
be refitted and would wait for the west winds and go to 
Darien, which is on the other side of the sea, in the 
country of Diucatan. The king approved our thoughts, 
and said that he had in his service two hundred and 
twenty-five carpenters who would do all the work under 
the direction of our men, and that those who should re- 
main there would be treated as his own children ; and he 
said this with so much emotion that he moved us all to 
tears. 

We who were on board the "Victoria," fearing that 
she might open, on account of the heavy cargo and the 
long voyage, lightened her by discharging sixty hundred- 
weight of cloves, which we had carried to the house 
where the crew of the " Trinity " were lodged. Some of 
our own crew preferred to remain at Maluco rather than 
go with us to Spain, because they feared that the ship 
could not endure so long a voyage, and because, mindful 
of how much they had suffered, they feared to die of 
hunger in mid-ocean. 

Saturday, the 21st of December, day of St. Thomas 
the Apostle, the King of Tadore came to the ships and 
brought us the two pilots, whom we had already paid to 
conduct us out of these islands. They said that the 
weather was then good for sailing at once ; but, having 

6 



82 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

to wait for the letters of our companions who remained 
behind, and who wished to write to Spain, we could not 
sail till mid-day. Then the ships took leave of one 
another by a mutual discharge of bombards. Our men 
accompanied us for some distance with their boat, and 
then with tears and embraces we separated. Juan Car- 
valho remained at Tadore with fifty-three of our men ; 
we were forty-seven Europeans and thirteen Indians. 
The king's governor came with us as far as the Island 
of Mare ; we had hardly arrived there when four prahus 
laden with wood came up, which in less than an hour we 
got on board. We then took the southwest course. . . . 

In order to double the Cape of Good Hope, we went 
as far as 42° south latitude, and we remained off that 
cape for nine weeks, with the sails struck on account of 
the western and northwestern gales which beat about 
our bows with fierce squalls. The Cape of Good Hope 
is in 34° 30' south latitude, sixteen hundred leagues 
distant from the Cape of Malacca, and it is the largest 
and most dangerous cape in the world. 

Some of our men, and among them the sick, would 
have liked to land at a place belonging to the Portuguese 
called Mozambique, both because the ship made much 
water, and because of the great cold which we suffered ; 
and much more because we had nothing but rice and 
water for food and drink, all the meat of which we had 
made provision having putrefied, for the want of salt had 
not permitted us to salt it. But the greater number of 
us, prizing honor more than life itself, decided on at- 
tempting at any risk to return to Spain. 

At length, by the aid of God, on the 6th of May we 
passed that terrible cape, but we were obliged to ap- 
proach it within only five leagues distance, or else we 



ARRIVAL AT CAPE VERP ISLANDS. 83 

should never have passed it. We then sailed towards 
the northwest for two whole months without ever taking 
rest ; and in this short time we lost twenty-one men, be- 
tween Christians and Indians. We made then a curi- 
ous observation on throwing them into the sea ; that was, 
that the Christians remained with the face turned to the 
sky, and the Indians with the face turned to the sea. 
If God had not granted us favorable weather, we should 
have all perished with hunger. 

Constrained by extreme necessity, we decided on 
touching at the Cape Verd Islands, and on Wednesday, 
the 9th of July, we touched at one of those islands named 
St. James's. Knowing that we were in an enemy's 
country, and amongst suspicious persons, on sending 
the boat ashore to get provision of victuals, we charged 
the seamen to say to the Portuguese that we had sprung 
our foremast under the equinoctial line (although this 
misfortune had happened at the Cape of Good Hope) 
and that our ship was alone, because whilst we tried to 
repair it, our captain-general had gone with the other 
two ships to Spain. With these good words, and giving 
some of our merchandise in exchange, we obtained two 
boat-loads of rice. 

In order to see whether we had kept an exact account 
of the days, we charged those who went ashore to ask 
what day of the week it was, and they were told by the 
Portuguese inhabitants of the island that it was Thurs- 
day, which was a great cause of wondering to us, since 
with us it was only Wednesday. We could not persuade 
ourselves that we were mistaken ; and I was more sur- 
prised than the others, since, having always been in good 
health, I had every day, without intermission, written 
down the day that was current. But we were afterwards 



84 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

advised that there was no error on our part, since, as we 
had always sailed towards the west, following the course 
of the sun, and had returned to the same place, we must 
have gained twenty-four hours, as is clear to any one 
who reflects upon it. 

The boat, having returned for rice a second time to 
the shore, was detained, with thirteen men who were in 
it. As we saw that, and, from the movement in certain 
caravels, suspected that they might wish to capture us 
and our ship, we at once set sail. We afterwards learned, 
some time after our return, that our boat and men had 
been arrested, because one of our men had discovered 
the deception, and said that the captain- general was 
dead, and that our ship was the only one remaining of 
Magellan's fleet. 

At last, when it pleased Heaven, on Saturday, the 6th 
of September of the year 1522, we entered the Bay of 
San Lucar ; and of sixty men who composed our crew 
when we left Maluco, we were reduced to only eighteen, 
and these for the most part sick. Of the others, some 
died of hunger, some had run away at the Island of 
Timor, and some had been condemned to death for 
their crimes. 

From the day when we left this Bay of San Lucar 
until our return thither, we reckoned that we had run 
more than fourteen thousand four hundred and sixty 
leagues, and we had completed going round the earth 
from east to west. 

Monday, the 8th of September, we cast anchor near 
the mole of Seville, and discharged all the artillery. 

Tuesday, we all went in shirts and barefoot, with a 
taper in our hands, to visit the shrine of St. Maria of 
Victory, and of St. Maria de Antigua. 



END OF THE VOYAGE, 85 

Then, leaving Seville, I went to Valladolid, where I 
presented to his Sacred Majesty Don Carlos, neither 
gold nor silver, but things much more precious in the 
eyes of so great a sovereign. I presented to him, among 
other things, a book written by my own hand of all the 
things that had occurred day by day in our voyage. I 
departed thence as I was best able, and went to Portu- 
gal, and related to King John the things which I had 
seen. Returning through Spain, I came to France, 
where I presented a few things from the other hemi- 
sphere to Madam the Regent, mother of the most Chris- 
tian King Don Francis. Afterwards I turned towards 
Italy, where I established forever my abode, and de- 
voted my leisure and vigils to the very illustrious and 
noble lord, Philip de Villiers Lisleadam, the very worthy 
grand master of Rhodes. 

The Chevalier, 

Anthoyne Pigaphete. 



IV. 

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 

*- T TNCLE FRITZ," said Alice, as they came into 

V-^' the hall, " I was for coming out by a new way. 
We took the Brookline train, and walked across by 
Sewell Street. Fergus and Walter thought it a very 
wild adventure ; but I told them I had pirate's blood in 
me. Am I not a Drake, if I go back far enough into 
history? And was he not pretty much what is now 
called a pirate ? " 

Uncle Fritz was delighted with her remembering any- 
thing about her ancestry. He had told her that she was 
descended from Hawkins, who, so far as England went, 
invented the slave-trade. 

That great and good Queen Elizabeth gave him for 
his cognizance " Three Moors' heads with a chain over 
three gold bezants," — a coat-of-arms which gives a 
good idea of the philanthropy and the eye to business 
of England in that day. 

Alice had mixed up Hawkins with Drake ; and he 
explained this to her. 

" I wish any of us had Drake blood," he said. 
" Oddly enough, the part of the United States first cer- 
tainly taken possession of in the name of an English 
sovereign seems to be California, — away there on the 
Pacific. 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 87 

" Sebastian Cabot seems to have sailed down the 
coast, and perhaps took possession for England. But 
of that discovery there is only the most vague account. 
The French and Spanish discoverers took Florida and 
Carolina for their sovereigns. But the first English 
act of possession of which we have real knowledge is 
Drake's in California. 

" We have come down to Drake's time, and I have 
marked some passages for to-day. He discovered the 
coast of Oregon, and I think he entered San Francisco 
Bay.'' 

The boys and girls had found several places where 
they had read up Drake, and Walter began by reading 
out of 

THE WORLD ENCOMPASSED BY SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 
CAREFULLY COLLECTED OUT OF THE NOTES OF 
MASTER FRANCIS FLETCHER, PREACHER IN THIS 
IMPLOYMENT. 

Ever since Almighty God commanded Adam to sub- 
due the earth, there have not wanted in all ages some 
heroical spirits which, in obedience to that high man- 
date, either from manifest reason alluring them, or by 
secret instinct inforcing them thereunto, have expended 
their wealth, imployed their times, and adventured their 
persons to find out the true circuit thereof. 

Of these, some have endeavored to effect this their 
purpose by conclusion and consequence, drawn from 
the proportion of the higher circles to this nethermost 
globe, being the centre of the rest. Others, not con- 
tented with school points and such demonstrations (for 
that a small error in the beginning, growing in the pro- 
gress to a great inconvenience), have added thereunto 



88 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

their own history and experience. All of them in reason 
have deserved great commendation of their own ages, 
and purchased a just renown with all posterity. For if 
a surveyor of some few lordships, whereof the bounds 
and limits were before known, worthily deserve his re- 
ward, not only for his travel, but for his skill also in 
measuring the whole and every part thereof^ how much 
more above comparison are their famous travels by all 
means possible to be eternized, who have bestowed their 
studies and endeavor to survey and measure this globe 
almost immeasurable ? Neither is here that difference 
to be objected, which in private possessions is of value : 
Whose land survey you ? Forasmuch as the main ocean 
by right is the Lord's alone, and by nature left free for 
all men to deal withal, as very sufficient for all men's 
use, and large enough for all men's industry. 

And therefore that voyage, accompanied with happy 
success, which that thrice rare and thrice worthy cap- 
tain, Francis Drake, achieved in first turning up a 
furrow about the whole world, doth not only overmatch 
the ancient Argonauts, but also outreacheth in many 
respects that noble mariner Magellanus, and by far sur- 
passeth his crowned victory. But hereof let posterity 
judge. 

It shall for the present be deemed a sufficient dis- 
charge of duty to register the true and whole history of 
that his voyage, with as great indifferency of affectation 
as a history doth require, and with the plain evidence of 
truth, as it was left recorded by some of the chief and 
divers other actors in that action. 

The said Captain Francis Drake, having in a former 
voyage, in the years '72 and '73 (the description whereof 
is already imparted to the view of the world), had a 



DRAKE'S FLEET. 89 

sight, and only a sight, of the South Atlantic,^ and there- 
upon either conceiving a new, or renewing a former, de- 
sire of sailing on the same in an English bottom, he so 
cherished henceforward this his noble desire and resolu- 
tion in himself, that, notwithstanding he was hindered for 
some years, partly by secret envy at home, and partly by 
public service for his prince and country abroad (whereof 
Ireland under Walter, Earl of Essex, gives honorable tes- 
timony), yet against the year 1577 by gracious commis- 
sion of his sovereign, and with the help of divers friends 
(adventurers), he had fitted himself with five ships. 

1. The "Pelican," admiral, burthen 100 tons. Cap- 
tain-General Francis Drake. 

2. The " Elizabeth," vice-admiral, burthen 80 tons. 
Captain John Winter. 

3. The " Marigold," a bark of 30 tons. Captain 
John Thomas. 

4. The " Swan," a flyboat of 50 tons. Captain John 
Chester. 

5. The " Christopher," a pinnace of 15 tons. Captain 
Thomas Moore. 

These ships he manned with one hundred and sixty- 
four able and sufficient men, and furnished them also 
with such plentiful provision of all things necessary as 
so long and dangerous a voyage did seem to require ; 
and amongst the rest with certain pinnaces ready framed, 
but carried aboard in pieces, to be new set up in 
smoother water, when occasion served. Neither had 
he omitted to make provision also for ornament and 

1 It may interest the reader to look up Drake's former voyages. Ac- 
counts may be found in Hakluyt and also in Burroughs's " Life of Drake." 
It was on the excursion to Nombre de Dios that Drake saw the South Sea 
from a tree in the Isthmus of Darien. 



go STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

delight, carrying to this purpose with him expert musi- 
cians, rich furniture (all the vessels of his table, yea, 
many belonging even to the cook-room being of pure 
silver), and divers shews of all sorts of curious work- 
manship, whereby the civility and magnificence of his 
native country might amongst nations whithersover he 
should come, be the more admired. 

Being thus appointed, we set sail out of the Sound 
of Plymouth about five of the clock in the afternoon, 
November 15, of the same year [1577], and running all 
that night southwest, by the morning were come as far 
as the Lizard, where meeting the wind at southwest 
(quite contrary to our intended course) we were forced, 
with our whole fleet, to put into Falmouth. 

The next day, toward evening, there arose a storm, 
continuing all that day and the night following (espe- 
cially between ten of the clock in the forenoon and five 
in the afternoon) with such violence that, though it were 
in a very good harbor, yet two of our ships, namely, the 
admiral (wherein our general himself went) and the 
"Marigold," were fain to cut their main-masts by board; 
and for the repairing of them, and many other damages 
in the tempest sustained (as soon as the weather would 
give leave), to bear back to Plymouth again, where we 
all arrived the thirteenth day after our first departure 
thence. 

Whence (having in few days supplied all defects), with 
happier sails we once more put to sea Dec. 13, 1577. 

The other extracts came chiefly from the boys' beloved 
Hakluyt. 



THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN. 9 1 



DRAKE^S VOYAGE IN THE PACIFIC. 

The twenty-first day we entered the strait, which we 
found to have many turnings, and as it were shiftings up, 
as if there were no passage at all ; by means whereof we 
had the wind often against us, so that some of the fleet 
recovering a cape or point of land others should be 
forced to turn back again, and to come to anchor where 
they could. 

In this strait there be many fair harbors, with store 
of fresh water, but yet they lack their best commod- 
ity; for the water is there of such a depth that no 
man shall find ground to anchor in, except it be in 
some narrow river, or cover, or between some rocks, 
so that if any extreme blasts or contrary winds do 
come (whereunto the place is much subject) it carrieth 
with it no small danger. 

The land on both sides is very huge and mountainous, 
the lower mountains whereof, although they be mon- 
strous and wonderful to look upon for their height, yet 
there are others which in height exceed them in a strange 
manner, reaching themselves above their fellows so high, 
that did appear there regions of clouds. 

These mountains are covered with snow. At both 
the southerly and easterly parts of the strait there are 
islands among which the sea hath his indraught into the 
straits, even as it hath in the main entrance of the strait. 

The strait is extreme cold, with frost and snow con- 
tinually. The trees seem to stoop with the burden of 
the weather, and yet are green continually, and many 
good and sweet herbs do very plentifully grow and in- 
crease under them. 



92 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

The breadth of the strait is in some places a league, 
in some other places two leagues and three leagues, and 
in some others four leagues, but the narrowest part has 
a league over. 

The 24th of August we arrived at an island in the 
straits, where we found great store of fowl which could 
not fly, of the bigness of geese, whereof we killed in less 
than one day three thousand, and victualled ourselves 
thoroughly therewith. 

The sixth day of September we entered the South Sea 
at the cape or head shore. . * . 

Our general . . . stayed here no longer, but weighed 
anchor, and set sail towards the coast of Chili, and, 
drawing towards it, we met near the shore an Indian in 
a canoe, who, thinking us to have been Spaniards, came 
to us and told us that at a place called St. Jago there 
was a great Spanish ship laden from the kingdom of 
Peru ; for which good news our general gave him divers 
trifles, whereof he was glad, and went away with us and 
brought us to the place which is called the port of 
Valparaiso. 

When we came thither, we found, indeed, the ship 
riding at anchor, having in her eight Spaniards and three 
negroes, who, thinking us to have been Spaniards and 
their friends, welcomed us with a drum, and made ready 
a Bottija of wine of Chili to drink to us ; but as soon as 
we were entered, one of our company, called Thomas 
Moore, began to lay about him, and struck one of the 
Spaniards, and said unto him, "Abaxo Perro," that is, in 
English, " Go down, dog.'' One of these Spaniards, see- 
ing persons of that quality in those seas, fell to crossing 
and blessing himself ; but, to be short, we stowed them 
under hatches, all save one Spaniard, who suddenly and 



IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 93 

desperately leaped overboard into the sea, and swam 
ashore to the town of St. Jago to give the warning of 
our arrival. 

They of the town, being not above nine households, 
presently fled away and abandoned the town. Our 
general manned his boat and the Spanish ship's boat 
and went to the town, and being come to it we rifled it, 
and came to a small chapel, which we entered, and found 
therein a silver chalice, two cruets, and one altar-cloth, 
the spoil whereof our general gave to Mr. Fletcher, our 
minister. 

We found in this town a warehouse stored with wine 
of Chili, and many boards of cedar-wood, all which wine 
we brought away with us, and certain of the boards to 
burn for firewood ; and so being come aboard, we de- 
parted to the haven, having first set all the Spaniards 
on land, saving one John Griego, a Greek born, whom 
our general carried with him for his pilot to bring him 
into the haven of Lima. 

When we were at sea, our general rifled the ship, 
and found in her good store of the wine of Chili, 
and twenty-five thousand pezos of very pure and 
fine gold of Boldivia, amounting in value to thirty- 
seven thousand ducats of Spanish money, and above. 
So, going on our course, we arrived next at a place 
called Coquimbo, where our general sent fourteen of 
his men on land to fetch water; but they were espied 
by the Spaniards, who came with three hundred horse- 
men and two hundred footmen, and slew one of our 
men with a piece ; the rest came aboard in safety, and 
the Spaniards departed. We went on shore again, and 
the Spaniards came down again with a flag of truce ; but 
we set sail and w^ould not trust them. . . . 



94 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

This pilot brought us to the haven of Guatulco, the 
town whereof, as he told us, had but seventeen Span- 
iards in it. As soon as we were entered this haven we 
landed, and went presently to the town, and to the town 
house, where we found a judge sitting in judgment, being 
associate with three other officers, upon three negroes 
that had conspired the burning of the town, both which 
judges and prisoners we took and brought them a ship- 
board, and caused the chief judge to write his letter to 
the town, to command all the townsmen to avoid, that 
we might safely water there ; which being done and 
they departed, we ransacked the town, and in a house 
we found a pot, of the quantity of a bushel, full of reals 
of plate, which we brought to our ship. 

And here Thomas Moore, one of our company, took 
a Spanish gentleman as he was flying out of the town, 
and searching him, he found a chain of gold about him 
and other jewels, which we took, and so let him go. 

At this place our general, among other Spaniards, set 
ashore his Portugal pilot, which he took at the Islands 
of Cape Verd, out of a ship of St. Mary port of Portu- 
gal, and having set them ashore, we departed hence, 
and sailed to the Island of Canno, where our general 
landed, and brought to shore his own ship and dis- 
charged her, mended and graved her, and furnished 
our ship with water and wood sufficiently. 

And while we were here we espied a ship, and set sail 
after her and took her, and found in her two pilots and a 
Spanish governor going from the Islands of the Philli- 
pinas. We searched the ship, and took some of her 
merchandise, and so let her go. Our general at this 
place and time, thinking himself both in respect of his 
private injuries received from the Spaniards, as also of 



A FAIR AND GOOD BAY, 95 

their contempts and indignities offered to our country 
and prince in general, sufficiently satisfied and re- 
venged ; and supposing that her Majesty at his return 
would rest contented with these services, purposed to 
continue no longer upon the Spanish coasts, but began to 
consider and to consult of the best way for his country. 
He thought it not good to return by the straits for two 
special causes : the one, lest the Spaniards should there 
wait and attend for him in great numbers and strength, 
whose hands, he being left but one ship, could not pos- 
sibly escape. The other cause was the dangerous situa- 
tion of the mouth of the straits in the South Sea, where 
continual storms raging and blustering, as he found by 
experience, besides the shoals and sands upon the coast, 
he thought it not a good course to adventure that way. 
He resolved, therefore, to avoid these hazards, to go for- 
ward to the Islands of the Malucos, and there hence to 
sail the course of the Portugals by the Cape of Buena 
Esperanza. Upon this resolution he began to think of 
his best way to the Malucos, and finding himself where 
he now was, becalmed, he saw that of necessity he must 
be forced to take a Spanish course, namely, to sail 
somewhat northerly to get a wind. We therefore set 
sail and sailed six hundred leagues at the least for a 
good wind, and this much we sailed from the i6th of 
April till the 3d of June. The fifth day of June, being 
in forty-three degrees towards the pole Arctic, we found 
it so cold that our men, being grievously pinched with 
the same, complained of the extremity thereof, and the 
farther we went the more the cold increased upon us. 
Whereupon we thought it best for that time to seek the 
land, and did so, finding it not mountainous, but low, 
plain land, till we came within thirty-eight degrees to- 



96 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

wards the line ; in which height it pleased God to send 
us into a fair and good bay, with a good wind to enter 
the same. In this bay we anchored, and the people of 
the country having their houses close by the water's 
side, showed themselves unto us, and sent a present to 
our general. 

When they came unto us, they greatly wondered 
at the things that we brought, but our general (accord- 
ing to his natural and accustomed humanity) courteously 
entreated them and liberally bestowed on them the neces- 
sary things to cover their nakedness, whereupon they 
supposed us to be gods, and would not be persuaded to 
the contrary. The presents which they sent to our 
general were feathers and coils of network. 

Their houses are digged about with earth, and have 
from the uttermost brims of the circle clifts of wood set 
upon them, joining close together at the top like a spire 
steeple, which, by reason of their cleverness, are very 
warm. . . . 

After they were departed from us, they came and 
visited us the second time, and brought with them 
feathers and bags of tobacco for presents. And when 
they came to the top of the hill (at the bottom whereof 
we had pitched our tents) they stayed themselves, where 
one appointed for speaker wearied himself with making 
a long oration ; which done, they left their bows upon the 
hill and came down with their presents. 

In the mean time the women remaining on the hill 
tormented themselves lamentably, tearing their flesh from 
their cheeks, whereby we perceived that they were about 
a sacrifice. In the mean time our general with his com- 
pany went to prayer and to reading of the Scripture, at 
which exercise they were attentive, and seemed greatly 



WELCOMED BY THE NATIVES. 97 

to be affected with it ; but when they were come unto 
us, they restored again unto us those things which 
before we bestowed upon them. 

The news of our being there spread through the 
country, the people that inhabit round about came 
down, and amongst them the king himself, a man of 
goodly stature and comely personage, with many other 
tall and warlike men, before whose coming were sent 
two ambassadors to our general to signify that their 
king was coming, in doing of which message their 
speech was continued about half an hour. This 
ended, they by signs requested our general to send 
something by their hand as a token that his coming 
might be in peace ; wherein our general having satis- 
fied them, they returned with glad tidings to their king, 
who marched to us with a princely majesty, the people 
crying continually, after their manner, and as they drew 
near unto us, so did they strive to behave themselves in 
their actions with comeliness. 

In the fore part was a man of goodly personage, who 
bore the sceptre or mace before the king, whereon 
hanged two crowns, a less and a bigger, with three 
chains of a marvellous length. The crowns were 
made of knit work, wrought artificially with feathers 
of divers colors. The chains w^ere made of bony sub- 
stance, and few be the persons among them that are 
admitted to wear them, and of that number also the 
persons are stinted as some ten, some twelve, etc. Next 
unto him which bore the sceptre was the king himself, 
with his guard about his person, clad with cony skins 
and other skins. After them followed the naked, com- 
mon sort of people, every one having his face painted, 
some with white, some with black, and other colors, and 

7 



98 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

having in their hands one thing or another for a present, 
not so much as their children, but they also brought 
their presents. 

In the mean time our general gathered his men to- 
gether, and marched within his fenced place, making 
against their approaching a very warlike show. They 
being trooped together in their order, and a general 
salutation being made, there was presently a general 
silence. Then he that bore the sceptre before the king, 
being informed by another, whom they assigned to that 
office, with a manly and loud voice proclaimed that 
which the other spake to him in secret, continuing half 
an hour ; which ended and a general Amen, as it were, 
given, the king, with the whole number of men and 
women (the children excepted), came down without any 
weapon, who, descending to the foot of the hill, set 
themselves in order. 

In coming toward our bulwarks and tents, the sceptre- 
bearer began a song, observing his measures in a dance, 
and that with a stately countenance, whom the king with 
his guard and every degree of persons following did in like 
manner sing and dance, saving only the women which 
danced and kept silence. The general permitted them to 
enter within our bulwark, where they continued their song 
and dance a reasonable time. When they had satisfied 
themselves, they made signs to our general to sit down, 
to whom the king and divers others made several ora- 
tions, or rather supplications, that he would take their 
province and kingdom into his hand and become their 
king, making signs that they would resign unto him 
their right and title of the whole land, and become his 
subjects. In which, to persuade us the better, the king 
and the rest, with one consent, and with great reverence, 



SACRIFICES OF THE SAVAGES. 99 

joyfully singing a song, did set the crown upon his head, 
enriched his neck with all their chains, and offered unto 
him many other things, honoring him with the name of 
Hioh, adding thereunto, as it seemed, a sign of triumph \ 
which thing our General thought it not meet to reject, be- 
cause he knew not what honor and profit it might be to 
our country. Wherefore in the name and to the use of 
her Majesty he took the sceptre, crown, and dignity of the 
said country into his hands, wishing that the riches and 
treasure thereof might so conveniently be transported 
to the enriching of her kingdom at home, as it abound- 
eth in the same. 

The coilimon sort of people, leaving the king and 
guard with our General, scattered themselves together 
with their sacrifices among our people, taking a diligent 
view of every person : and such as pleased their fancy 
(which were the youngest) they, enclosing them about, 
offered their sacrifices unto them with lamentable weep- 
ing, scratching and tearing the flesh from their faces with 
their nails, whereof issued abundance of blood. But we 
used signs to them of disliking this, and stayed their 
hands from force, and directed them upwards to the 
living God, whom only they ought to worship. They 
showed unto us their wounds, and craved help of them 
at our hands, whereupon we gave them lotions, plasters, 
and ointments agreeing to the state of their griefs, be- 
seeching God to cure their diseases. Every third day 
they brought their sacrifices unto us, until they under- 
stood our meaning, that we had no pleasure in them. 
Yet they could not be long absent from us, but daily 
frequented our company to the hour of our departure, 
which departure seemed so grievous unto them that their 
joy was turned into sorrow. They entreated us that, 

LofC. 



100 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

being absent, we would remember them, and by stealth 
provided for us a sacrifice, which we misliked. . . . 

Our General called this country Nova Albion, and 
that for two causes : the one in respect of the white 
banks and cliffs which lie towards the sea : and the 
other because it might have some affinity with our 
country in name, which sometimes was so called. 

There is no part of earth here to be taken up, wherein 
there is not some probable show of gold and silver. 
At our departure hence our General set up a monument 
of our being there, as also of her Majesty's right and title 
to the same, namely, a plate nailed upon a fair, great post, 
whereupon was engraven her Majesty's name, the day 
and year of our arrival there, with the free giving up of 
the province and people into her Majesty's hands, to- 
gether with her Highness's picture and arms, in a piece 
of sixpence of current English money under the plate, 
whereunto was also written the name of our General. 

It seemeth that the Spaniards hitherto had never been 
in this part of the country, neither did ever discover the 
land by many degrees to the southwards of this place. 

They also read the story of the Portuguese pilot whom 
Drake captured off the Cape Verd Islands and carried 
with him through the straits. 

THE STORY OF NUNO DA SILVA. 

Nuno da Silva, born in Porto, a citizen and inhabitant 
of Guaia, saith that he departed out of his house in the 
beginning of November, in the year of our Lord 1577, tak- 
ing his course to Cabo Verde, or " the Green Cape/' where 
he anchored with his ship close by the haven of the Island 



THE PORTUGUESE PILOT lOI 

of St. Jago, one of the islands of Caho Verde^ afore- 
said, being the 19th of January in the year of our Lord 
15 78. And lying there, there came six ships, which seemed 
to be Englishmen, whereof the admiral boarded his ship, 
and by force, with his men, took him out of his ship, leav- 
ing some of his best men aboard his ship ; and although 
the fortress of the island shot four or five times at them, 
yet they hurt not the Englishmen ; who, having done, set 
sail from thence to the island of Brava, taking with them 
the ship of the said Nuno da Silva : being there, they filled 
certain vessels with fresh water ; from thence, holding their 
course inward to sea, having first, with a boat, set the men 
of Nuno da Silva^s ship on land, only keeping Nuno da 
Silva in his ship, as also his ship with the wines that were 
therein. And Nuno da Silva saith the cause why they 
kept him on board was because they knew him to be a 
pilot for the coast of Brasilia, that he might bring them to 
such places in those countries as had fresh water. . . . 

From thence they held on their course till they came 
under nine and thirty degrees, where they anchored ; and 
being there, they left two of their six ships behind them, 
and sailed but four in company (that of Nuno da Silva 
being one) till they came to the bay called Baya de las 
Islas, that is, the *'Bay of the Islands,'' lying under nine 
and forty degrees, where it is said that Magellan lay and 
wintered there with his ship when he first discovered the 
strait which now holdethhis name. Into this bay the 20th 
of June they entered, and there anchored so close to the 
land that they might send to it with a harquebus shot. And 
there they saw the land to be inhabited with Indians that 
were apparelled with skins, with their legs from the knees 
downward and their arms from the elbows downward 
naked, all the rest of their bodies being clothed, with 



102 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

bows and arrows in their hands, being subtle, great, and 
well-formed people, and strong and high of stature ; 
where six of the Englishmen went on land to fetch 
fresh water, and before they left on land, four of the 
Indians came unto their boat, to whom the Enghshmen 
gave bread and wine. And when the Indians had well 
eaten and drunk they departed thence. And going 
somewhat far from them, one of the Indians cried to 
them, and said: "Magallanes, esta he minha Terra," 
that is, " Magallanes, this is my country." And because 
the Englishmen followed them, it seemed the Indians fled 
upward into the land, and being somewhat far off, they 
turned back again, and with their arrows slew two of the 
English shippers, one being an Englishman, the other a 
Netherlander. The rest came back and saved themselves in 
the boat, wherewith they presently put off from the shore. 
Here they stayed till the 1 7th of August, upon which day 
they set sail, running along by the coast about a league and a 
half from the land (for there it is all fair and good ground, 
at twenty, and five and twenty fathom deep), and were 
about four or five days before they came to the mouth or 
entry of the strait ; but, because the wind was contrary, 
they stayed till the 24th of August before they entered. 

The entry or mouth of the strait is about a league broad, 
on both sides being bare and flat land. On the north side 
they saw Indians making great fires, but on the south side 
they saw no people stirring. The four and twentieth day 
aforesaid they began to enter into the strait with an east- 
northeast wind. This strait may be about an hundred and 
ten leagues long, and in breadth a league. About the entry 
of the strait, and half way into it, it runneth right forth with- 
out any windings or turnings ; and from thence, about eight 
or ten leagues towards the end, it hath some bouts and wind- 



THE HAVEN OF GUATULCO. 103 

ings, among the which there is one so great a hook or head- 
land, that it seemed to run into the other land ; and there 
it is less than a league broad from one land to the other, 
and from thence forward it runneth straight out again ; and 
although you find some crookings, yet they are nothing to 
speak of. The issue of the strait lieth westward, and about 
eight or ten leagues before you come to the end, then the 
strait beginneth to be broader, and it is all high land to 
the end thereof, after you are eight leagues within the 
strait, for the first eight leagues after you enter is low, flat 
land, as I said before. . . . 

Three days after, they both let the ship and men go 
whither they would, setting therein the two sailors that 
should go for China, which they had taken in the frigate, 
keeping only one sailor to show them where they should 
find fresh water, to the which end they took the empty 
vessels with them to fill with water, and so kept on their 
course to the haven of Guatulco, where they put in, being 
about Monday the 1 3th of April, and, having anchored, 
they stayed there till the sixth and twentieth of April, and 
about three or four hours within the night they set sail, 
holding their course westward, and an hour or two before 
they let Nuno da Silva go, putting him into another ship 
that lay in the haven of Guatulco. 

From thence forward the Englishmen passed on their 
voyage to the Islands of Malucos, and from thence they 
passed by the Cape de Buena Esperanza^ and so to Eng- 
land, as it is well known, so that this is only the descrip- 
tion of the voyage that they made while the said pilot, 
Nuno da Silva, was with them. 

Hereafter followeth the copy of a letter written by Sir 
Francis Drake (being in the South Sea of New Spain, in 
his ship called the " Pelican," or the " Golden Hind," 



104 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

with the ship of St. John de Anton, which he had taken) 
to his companions in the other ships that were of his com- 
pany, and by foul weather separated from him, as I said 
before. The contents whereof were these : — 

Master Winter, if it pleaseth God that you should 
chance to meet with this ship of St. John de Anton, I 
pray you use him well, according to my word and promise 
given unto them, and if you want to use anything that is 
in this ship of St. John de Anton, I pray you pay them 
double the value for it, which I will satisfy again, and com- 
mand your men not to do any hurt. And what composition 
or agreement we have made, at my return into England I 
will, by God's help, perform, although I am in doubt that 
this letter will never come to your hands ; notwithstanding, 
I am the man I have promised to be : beseeching God, the 
Saviour of all the world, to have us in his keeping, to 
whom only I give all honor, praise, and glory. What I 
have written is not only to you, M. Winter, but also to M. 
Thomas, M. Charles, M. Caube, and M. Anthony, with all 
our other good friends, whom I commit to the tuition of 
him that with his blood redeemed us, and am in good 
hope that we shall be in no more trouble, but that he will 
help us in adversity, desiring you, for the Passion of Christ, 
if you fall into any danger, that you will not despair of 
God's mercy, for he will defend you and preserve you 
from all danger, and bring us to our desired haven, to 
whom be all honor, glory, and praise for ever and ever. 
Amen. 

Your sorrowful Captain, whose heart is heavy for you, 

Francis Drake. 

The next was the story of those who were separated 
from Drake in the straits. 



RETURN THROUGH THE STRAIT 105 

The 15th of September the moon was there eclipsed, 
and began to darken presently after the setting of the sun, 
about six of the clock at that night, being then equinoctial 
vernal in that country. The said eclipse happened the 
sixteenth day in the morning before one of the clock in 
England, which is about six hours difference, agreeing to 
one quarter of the world, from the meridian of England 
toward the west. The last of September being a very foul 
night, and the seas sore grown, we lost the " Marigold,'* 
the general's ship and the '' EHzabeth " running to the 
eastward to get the shore, whereof we had sight the 7th of 
October, falling into a very dangerous bay full of rocks ; 
and there we lost company of M. Drake the same night. 
The next day, very hardly escaping the danger of the 
rocks, we put into the straits again, where we anchored in 
an open bay for the space of two days, and made great 
fires on the shore, to the end if M. Drake should come 
into the straits, he might find us. After, we went into 
a sound, where we stayed for the space of three weeks, 
and named it *'The Port of Health;'' for the most 
part of our men, being very sick with long watching, wet, 
cold, and evil diet, did here (God be thanked) wonderfully 
recover their health in short space. Here we had very 
great muscles (some being twenty inches long), very pleas- 
ant meat, and many of them full of seed-pearls. 

We came out of this harbor the istof November, giving 
over our voyage by M. Winter's compulsion (full sore 
against the mariners' minds), who alleged, he stood in 
despair, as well to have winds to serve his turn for Peru, 
as also of M. Drake's safety. So we came back again 
through the straits to St. George's Island, where we took of 
the fowls before named and after departed. . . . 

The 30th of May we had sight of St. Ives, on the north 



I06 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

side of Cornwall, and the 2d of June, 1579, we arrived at 
Ilfoord-combe, in Devonshire. And thus, after our mani- 
fold troubles and great dangers in having passed the Straits 
of Magellan into the South Sea with our General, M. 
Francis Drake, and having been driven with him down to 
the southerly latitude of fifty-seven degrees, and afterward 
passing back by the same straits again, it pleased God to 
bring us safe into our own native country, to enjoy the 
presence of our dear friends and kinsfolks ; to whom be 
praise, honor, and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 



V. 

THE ATLANTIC COAST. 

" T TNCLE FRITZ, who discovered the United 

v-/ States? I do not mean Columbus, and I do 
not mean who discovered Florida. But who discovered 
our genuine Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and so 
on?" 

This was Fanchon's ejaculation as they came in after 
quite an eager discussion. 

" Some people think that they were never discovered 
at all, and I am one of them." 

" What in the world do you mean, Uncle Fritz ? You 
are always poking fun at us." 

" Not this time," said Uncle Fritz. And then he took 
out for them some old maps which showed how Colum- 
bus supposed the coast of Asia to run. Then he showed 
them how, on the earliest maps of America, Newfound- 
land and the ^' Bacalaos," or codfish lands, were laid 
down, and Florida ; before the coast of the United States 
was put in, Sebastian Cabot seems to have sailed down, 
but he left no line of the coast. 

Then Uncle Fritz told them that, as the map-makers 
still supposed this was all Asia, it was very natural that 
they should run the line along from Florida to Newfound- 
land before any one had seen it. 



X 



I08 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

" Mr. Henry Stevens first suggested that probably they 
did so ; and this suggestion has been received with 
favor by the best authorities. 

" A Venetian pirate named Verrazzano, acting in the 
French service, has generally the credit of the first dis- 
covery of the coast. You will find Bancroft gives him 
that credit in his earlier editions. 

^* But as he says he found roses and lilies in the lati- 
tude of New York harbor in the month of March, and, 
a little farther north, found the Indians drying grapes 
for raisins a few weeks after, his narrative may be set 
aside as a Mie with a circumstance.' 

" But," said Uncle Fritz, " you shall read for your- 
selves. I knew this must come in, and I have put in some 
marks for the early lines of the coast, — Verrazzano and 
all.'' 

THE VERRAZZANO LETTER.l 

Captain John de Verrazzano to His Most Serene Majesty 
the King of France, writes : — 

Since the tempests which we encountered on the north- 
ern coasts, I ha.ve not written to your most Serene and 
Christian Majesty concerning the four ships sent out by 
your orders on the ocean to discover new lands, because 
I thought you must have been before apprised of all that 
had happened to us, — that we had been compelled by 
the impetuous violence of the winds to put into Brittany 
in distress with only the two ships ** Normandy " and 
" Dolphin " ; and that, after having repaired these ships, 
we made a cruise in them, well armed, along the coast 
of Spain, as your Majesty must have heard, and also of 

1 We follow Mr. Miirphy's spelling. 




GIOVANNI VERRAZZANO 



VERRAZZANO. IO9 

our new plan of continuing our begun voyage with the 
" Dolphin '' alone. From this voyage being now re- 
turned, I proceed to give your Majesty an account of 
our discoveries. 

On the 17th of last January we set sail from a deso- 
late rock near the Island of Madeira, belonging to 
his most Serene Majesty the King of Portugal, with 
fifty men, having provisions sufficient for eight months, 
arms and other warlike munition, and naval stores. 
Sailing westward with a light and pleasant easterly breeze, 
in twenty-five days we ran eight hundred leagues. On 
the 24th of February we encountered as violent a hurri- 
cane as any ship ever weathered, from which we escaped 
unhurt by the Divine assistance and goodness, to the 
praise of the glorious and fortunate name of our good 
ship, that had been able to support the violent tossing 
of the waves. Pursuing our voyage toward the west, a 
little northwardly, in twenty-four days more, having run 
four hundred leagues, we reached a new country, which 
had never before been seen by any one, either in an- 
cient or modern times. At first it appeared to be very 
low ; but on approaching it to within a quarter of a 
league from the shore, we perceived, by the great fires 
near the coast, that it was inhabited. We perceived that 
it stretched to the south, and coasted along in that 
direction in search of some port in which we might 
come to anchor, and examine into the nature of the 
country; but for fifty leagues we could find none in 
which we could lie securely. Seeing the coast still 
stretched to the south, we resolved to change our course 
and stand to the northward, and as we still had the same 
difficulty, we drew in with the land and sent a boat on 
shore. Many people who were seen coming to the sea- 



1 1 STORIES OF DISCO VER V. 

side fled at our approach, but, occasionally stopping, 
they looked back upon us with astonishment, and some 
were at length induced by various friendly signs to come 
to us. These showed the greatest delight on beholding 
us, wondering at our dress, countenances, and complex- 
ion. They then showed us by signs where we could more 
conveniently secure our boat, and offered us some of their 
provisions. That your Majesty may know all that we 
learned while on shore of their manners and customs of 
life, I will relate what we saw as briefly as possible. They 
go entirely naked, except that about the loins they wear 
skins of small animals, like martens, fastened by a girdle 
of plaited grass, to which they tie, all round the body, 
the tails of other animals, hanging down to the knees ; 
all other parts of the body and the head are naked. 
Some wear garlands similar to birds' feathers. 

The complexion of this people is black, not much 
different from that of the Ethiopians ; their hair is 
black and thick, and not very long ; it is worn tied back 
upon the head in the form of a little tail. In person they 
are of good proportions, of middle stature, a little above 
our own, broad across the breast, strong in the arms, 
and well formed in the legs and other parts of the body ; 
the only exception to their good looks is that they have 
broad faces ; but not all, however, as we saw many that 
had sharp ones, with large black eyes and a fixed ex- 
pression. They are not very strong in body, but acute 
in mind ; active and swift of foot, as far as we could 
judge by observation. In these last two particulars they 
resemble the people of the East, especially those the most 
remote. We could not learn a great many particulars 
of their usages on account of our short stay among them, 
and the distance of our ship from the shore. 



A DELIGHTFUL COUNTRY. Ill 

We found not far from this people another, whose 
mode of life we judged to be similar. The whole shore 
is covered with fine sand, about fifteen feet thick, rising 
in the form of little hills about fifty paces broad. As- 
cending farther, we found several arms of the sea which 
make in through inlets, washing the shores on both sides 
as the coast runs. An outstretched country appears at 
a little distance, rising somewhat above the sandy shore 
in beautiful fields and broad plains, covered with im- 
mense forests of trees, more or less dense, too various 
in colors, and too delightful and charming in appearance, 
to be described. I do not believe that they are like 
the Hercynian forest or the rough wilds of Scythia, 
and the northern regions full of vines and common 
trees, but adorned with palms, laurels, cypresses, and 
other varieties unknown in Europe, that send forth the 
sweetest fragrance to a great distance, but which we 
could not examine more closely for the reasons before 
given, and not on account of any difficulty in traversing 
the woods, which, on the contrary, are easily penetrated. 

As the '' East " stretches around this country,^ I think 
it cannot be devoid of the same medicinal and aromatic 
drugs, and various riches of gold and the like, as is de- 
noted by the color of the ground. It abounds also in 
animals, as deer, stags, hares, and many other similar, 
and with a great variety of birds for every kind of 
pleasant and delightful sports. It is plentifully sup- 
plied with lakes and ponds of running water, and, being 
in the latitude of thirty-four, the air is salubrious, pure, 
and temperate, and free from the extremes of both 
heat and cold. There are no violent winds in these 
regions; the most prevalent are the northwest and 

1 It is meant that this is the shore of Asia. 



112 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

west. In summer, the season in which we were there, 
the sky is clear, with but Httle rain ; if fogs and mists 
are at any time driven in by the south wind, they are 
instantaneously dissipated, and at once it becomes serene 
and bright again. The sea is calm, not boisterous, and 
its waves are gentle. Although the whole coast is low 
and without harbors, it is not dangerous for navigation, 
being free from rocks, and bold, so that within four or 
five fathoms from the shore there is twenty-four feet of 
water at all times of tide ; and this depth constantly 
increases in uniform proportion. The holding ground 
is so good that no ship can part her cable, however 
violent the wind, as we proved by experience ; for while 
riding at anchor on the coast we were overtaken by a 
gale in the beginning of March, when the winds are 
high, as is usual in all countries ; we found our anchor 
broken before it started from its hold or moved at 
all. . . . 

Departing hence, and always following the shore, 
which stretched to the north, we came, in the space of 
fifty leagues, to another land, which appeared very beau- 
tiful and full of the largest forests. . . . 

We saw in this country many vines growing naturally, 
which entwine about the trees and run upon them as 
they do in the plains of Lombardy. These vines would 
doubtless produce excellent wine if they were properly 
cultivated and attended to, as we have often seen the 
grapes which they produce very sweet and pleasant, 
and not unlike our own. They must be held in estima- 
tion by them, as they carefully remove the shrubbery 
from around them, wherever they grow, to allow the fruit 
to ripen better. We found also wild roses, violets, 
lilies, and many sorts of plants and fragrant flowers 



A LARGE RIVER. II3 

different from our own. We cannot describe their 
habitations, as they are in the interior of the country ; 
but from various indications we conclude they must be 
formed of trees and shrubs. We saw also many grounds 
for conjecturing that they often sleep in the opien 
air, without any covering but the sky. Of their other 
usages we know nothing ; we believe, however, that all 
the people we were among live in the same way. 

After having remained here three days, riding at 
anchor on the coast, as we could find no harbor, w^e 
determined to depart, and coast along the shore to the 
northeast, keeping sail on the vessel only by day, and 
coming to anchor by night. After proceeding one hun- 
dred leagues we found a very pleasant situation among 
some steep hills, through which a very large river, deep at 
its mouth, forced its way to the sea ; from the sea to the 
estuary of the river any ship heavily laden might pass 
with the help of the tide, which rises eight feet. But 
as we were riding at anchor, in a good berth, we would 
not venture up in our vessel without a good knowledge 
of the mouth ; therefore we took the boat, and entering 
the river we found the country on its banks well peopled, 
the inhabitants not differing much from the others, being 
dressed out with feathers of birds of various colors. 
They came towards us with evident delight, raising loud 
shouts of admiration, and showing us where we could 
most securely land with our boat. We passed up this 
river about half a league, when we found it formed a 
most beautiful lake three leagues in circuit, upon which 
they were rowing thirty or more of their small boats, 
from one shore to the other, filled with multitudes who 
came to see us. 

All of a sudden, as is wont to happen to navigators, 

8 



114 STORIES OF DISCO VER V. 

a violent contrary wind blew in from the sea, and forced 
us to return to our ship, greatly regretting to leave this 
region which seemed so commodious and delightful, and 
which we supposed must also contain great riches, as 
the hills showed many indications of minerals. Weigh- 
ing anchor, we sailed eighty leagues toward the east, as 
the coast stretched in that direction, and always in sight 
of it ; at length we discovered an island of a triangular 
form, about ten leagues from the mainland, in size 
about equal to the Island of Rhodes, having many hills 
covered with trees, and well peopled, judging from the 
great number of fires which we saw all along the shore. 
We gave it the name of your Majesty's illustrious 
mother. 

We did not land there, as the weather was unfavorable, 
but proceeded to another place, fifteen leagues distant 
from the island, where we found a very excellent harbor. 
Before entering it, we saw about twenty small boats full 
of people, who came about our ship, uttering many cries 
of astonishment, but they would not approach nearer 
than within fifty paces ; stopping, they looked at the 
structure of our ship, our persons and dress; after- 
wards they all raised a loud shout together, signifying 
that they were pleased. By imitating their signs, we 
inspired them in some measure with confidence, so that 
they came near enough for us to toss to them some 
little glass bells and glasses, and many toys, which they 
took and looked at, laughing, and then came on board 
without fear. Among them were two kings more beau- 
tiful in form and stature than can possibly be described ; 
one was about forty years old, the other about twenty- 
four, and they were dressed in the following manner : 
the oldest had a deer's skin around his body, artificially 



COPPER ORNAMENTS, II5 

wrought in damask figures ; his head was without cover- 
ing ; his hair was tied back in various knots ; around 
his neck he wore a large chain ornamented with many- 
stones of different colors. The young man was similar 
in his general appearance. This is the finest looking 
tribe, and the handsomest in their costumes, that we 
have found in our voyage. They exceed us in size, and 
they are of a very fair complexion ; some of them in- 
cline more to a white, and others to a tawny color ; 
their faces are sharp, their hair long and black, upon 
the adorning of which they bestowed great pains ; their 
eyes are black and sharp, their expression mild and 
pleasant, greatly resembling the antique. I say nothing 
to your Majesty of the other parts of the body, which 
are all in good proportion and such as belong to well- 
formed men. Their women are of the same form and 
beauty, very graceful, of fine countenances and pleas- 
ing appearance in manners and modesty ; they wear 
no clothing except a deer-skin, ornamented like those 
worn by the men \ some wear very rich lynx-skins upon 
their arms, and various ornaments upon their heads, 
composed of braids of hair, which also hang down upon 
their breasts on each side. Others wear different orna- 
ments, such as the women of Egypt and Syria use. The 
older and married people, both men and women, wear 
many ornaments in their ears, hanging down in the Ori- 
ental manner. We saw upon them several pieces of 
wrought copper, which is more esteemed by them than 
gold, as this is not valued on account of its color, but 
is considered by them as the most ordinary of metals, 
— yellow being the color especially disliked by them ; 
azure and red are those in highest estimation with them. 
Of those things which we gave them, they prized most 



Il6 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

highly the bells, azure crystals, and other toys to hang 
in their ears and about their necks ; they do not value 
or care to have silk or gold stuffs, or other kinds of 
cloth, nor implements of steel or iron. When we 
showed them our arms, they expressed no admiration, 
and only asked how they were made ; the same was the 
case with the looking-glasses, which they returned to us, 
smiUng, as soon as they had looked at them. They are 
very generous, giving away whatever they have. We 
formed a great friendship with them, and one day 
we entered into the port with our ship, having before 
rode at the distance of a league from the shore, as the 
weather was adverse. They came off to the ship with 
a number of their little boats, with their faces painted 
in divers colors, showing us real signs of joy, bringing 
us of their provisions, and signifying to us where we 
could best ride in safety with our ship, and keeping 
with us until we had cast anchor. . . . 

Having supplied ourselves with everything necessary, 
on the 6th of May we departed from the port, and 
sailed one hundred and fifty leagues, keeping so close 
to the coast as never to lose it from our sight j the 
nature of the country appeared much the same as be- 
fore, but the mountains were a little higher, and all in 
appearance rich in minerals. We did not stop to land, 
as the weather was very favorable for pursuing our 
voyage, and the country presented no variety. The 
shore stretched to the east, and fifty leagues beyond 
more to the north, where we found a more elevated 
country, full of very thick woods of fir-trees, cypresses, 
and the like, indicative of a cold climate. The people 
were entirely different from the others we had seen, 
whom we had found kind and gentle ; but these were 



MORE BARBAROUS PEOPLE, 11/ 

SO rude and barbarous that we were unable, by any 
signs we could make, to hold communication with them. 
They clothe themselves in the skins of bears, lynxes, 
seals, and other animals. Their food, as far as we could 
judge by several visits to their dwellings, is obtained by 
hunting and fishing, and fruits, which are a sort of root 
of spontaneous growth. They have no pulse, and we 
saw no signs of cultivation ; the land appears sterile 
and unfit for growing of fruit or grain of any kind. If 
we wished at any time to traffic with them, they came to 
the seashore and stood on the rocks, from which they 
lowered down by a cord to our boats beneath whatever 
they had to barter, continually crying out to us not to 
come nearer, and instantly demanding from us that 
which was to be given in exchange ; they took from 
us only knives, fish-hooks, and sharpened steel. No 
regard was paid to our courtesies ; when we had noth- 
ing left to exchange with them, the men at our de- 
parture made the most brutal signs of disdain and 
contempt possible. Against their will we penetrated 
two or three leagues into the interior with twenty-five 
men ; when we came to the shore they shot at us with 
their arrows, raising the most horrible cries and after- 
wards fleeing to the woods. In this region we found 
nothing extraordinary except vast forests and some 
metalliferous hills, as we infer from seeing that many 
of the people wore copper ear-rings. Departing from 
thence, we kept along the coast, steering northeast, and 
found the country more pleasant and open, free from 
woods, and distant in the interior we saw lofty moun- 
tains, but none which extended to the shore. Within 
fifty leagues we discovered thirty-two islands, all near 
the main land, small and of pleasant appearance, but 



1 1 8 STORIES OF DISCO VER K 

high and so disposed as to afford excellent harbors and 
channels, as we see in the Adriatic Gulf, near Illyria 
and Dalmatia. We had no intercourse with the people, 
but we judge that they were similar in nature and 
usages to those we were last among. After sailing 
between east and north the distance of one hundred 
and fifty leagues more, and finding our provisions and 
naval stores nearly exhausted, we took in wood and 
water and determined to return to France, having dis- 
covered seven hundred leagues of unknown lands. . . . 

My intention in this voyage was to reach Cathay, on 
the extreme coast of Asia, expecting, however, to find in 
the newly discovered land some such obstacle, as they 
have proved to be, yet I did not doubt that I should 
penetrate by some passage to the eastern ocean. It 
was the opinion of the ancients that our Oriental Indian 
ocean is one, and without interposing land; Aristotle 
supports it by arguments founded on various proba- 
bilities ; but it is contrary to that of the moderns, and 
shown to be erroneous by experience. The country 
which has been discovered, and which was unknown to 
the ancients, is another world compared with that be- 
fore known, being manifestly larger than our Europe, 
together with Africa, and perhaps Asia. . . . 

The continent of Asia and Africa, we know for cer- 
tain, is joined to Europe at the north in Norway and 
Russia, which disproves the idea of the ancients that 
all this part has been navigated from the Cimbric Cher- 
sonesus eastward as far as the Caspian Sea. They also 
maintained that the whole continent was surrounded by 
two seas situate to the east and west of it, which seas 
in fact do not surround either of the two continents ; for, 
as we have seen above, the land of the southern hemi- 



SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. II9 

sphere at the latitude of 54 extends eastwardly an un- 
known distance, and that of the northern passing the 
66th parallel turns to the east, and has no termination 
as high as the 70th. In a short time, I hope, we shall 
have more certain knowledge of these things, by the aid 
of your Majesty, whom I pray Almighty God to prosper 
in lasting glory, that we may see the most important 
results of this our cosmography in the fulfilment of the 
Gospel. 

On board the ship " Dolphin," in the port of Dieppe, 
in Normandy, the 8th of July, 1524. 

Your humble servitor, 

Janus Verrazzanus. 

After the Verrazzano Letter had been read and dis- 
cussed by certain of the older children, under the 
guidance of Uncle Fritz, who was careful to direct their 
opinions into the right channel as regards the veracity 
of the writer, Horace Felltham, who always had Hakluyt 
on his tongue's end, proceeded to narrate the story of 
Sir Humphrey Gilbert and his voyage to Newfoundland. 
A few days afterward, some of the children copied bits 
of the story from the Hakluyt at the Public Library and 
read them to the rest. 

Dear Mr. Haven used to say that the sixteenth cen- 
tury was our " Mythical Age " in America. There are 
bits of stories, of which we have neither beginning nor 
end. And there were great heroes then. Grenville,^ 
whose fight with the Spaniards the young people knew 
about, was one of them, and this Gilbert, who was his 
friend, was another. 

1 See "Stories of the Sea," p. 95. 



120 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

THE RETURN OF SIR HUMFREY GILBERT, 
AUGUST, 1583. 

Those in the frigate were already pinched with spare 
allowance, and want of clothes chiefly. Whereupon 
they besought the general to return for England, be- 
fore they all perished. And to them of the " Golden 
Hinde '' they made signs of their distress, pointing to 
their mouths, and to their clothes thin and ragged ; 
then immediately they also of the " Golden Hinde " 
grew to be of the same opinion and desire to return 
home. 

The former reasons having also moved the general 
to have compassion of his poor men, in whom he saw 
no want of good will, but of means fit to perform the 
action they came for, resolved upon return ; and calling 
the captain and master of the " Hinde," he yielded 
them many reasons, enforcing this unexpected return, 
withal protesting himself greatly satisfied with that he 
had seen, and knew already. 

Reiterating these words, " Be content, we have seen 
enough, and take no care of expense past j I will set 
you forth royally the next spring, if God send us safe 
home. Therefore I pray you let us no longer strive 
here, where we fight against the elements." 

How unwillingly the captain and master of the 
" Hinde " condescended to this motion, his own com- 
pany can testify ; yet comforted with the generaPs 
promises of a speedy return at spring, and induced 
by other apparent reasons, proving an impossibility to 
accomplish the action at that time, it was concluded 
on all hands to retire. 

So upon Saturday in the afternoon, the 31st of August, 



A LION IN THE SEA, 121 

we changed our course, and returned back for England, 
at which very instant, even in winding about, there 
passed along between us and towards the land which 
we now forsook a very lion to our seeming, in shape, 
hair, and color, not swimming after the manner of a 
beast by moving of his feet, but rather sliding upon the 
water with his whole body (excepting the legs) in sight, 
neither yet diving under, and again rising above the 
water, as the manner is of whales, dolphins, tunies, 
porpoise, and all other fish, but confidently showing 
himself above water without hiding. Notwithstanding, 
we presented ourselves in open view and gesture to 
amaze him, as all creatures will be commonly at a 
sudden gaze and sight of men. Thus he passed along, 
turning his head to and fro, yawning and gaping wide, 
with ugly demonstration of long teeth, and glaring eyes ; 
and to bid us a farewell (coming right against the 
" Hinde *') he sent forth a horrible voice, roaring or 
bellowing as doeth a Hon, which spectacle we all beheld 
so far as we were able to discern the same, as men 
prone to wonder at every strange thing, as this doubt- 
less was, to see a lion in the ocean sea, or fish in 
shape of a Hon. What opinions others had thereof, and 
chiefly the general himself, I forbear to deliver. But 
he took it for bonum omen, rejoicing that he was to war 
against such an enemy, if it were the devil. 

The wind was large for England at our return, but 
very high, and the sea rough, insomuch as the frigate 
wherein the general went was almost swallowed up. 

Monday in the afternoon we passed in the sight of 
Cape Race, having made as much way in little more 
than two days and nights back again, as before we had 
done in eight days from Cape Race unto the place 



122 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

where our ship perished. Which hindrance thitherward, 
and speed back again, is to be imputed unto the swift 
current, as well as to the winds, which we had more 
large in our return. 

This Monday the general came aboard the " Hinde " 
to have the surgeon of the '' Hinde " to dress his foot, 
which he hurt by treading upon a nail. At what time 
we comforted each other with hope of hard success to be 
all past, and of the good to come. So agreeing to carry 
out lights always by night, that we might keep together, 
he departed into his frigate, being by no means to be en- 
treated to tarry in the " Hinde," which had been more for 
his security. Immediately after followed a sharp storm, 
which we overpassed for that time. Praised be God. 

The weather fair, the general came aboard the 
" Hinde " again, to make merry together with the cap- 
tain, master, and company, which was the last meeting, 
and continued there from morning until night, during 
which time there passed sundry discourses touching 
affairs past and to come, lamenting greatly the loss of 
his great ship, more of the men, but most of all of his 
books and notes, and what else I know not, for which 
he was out of measure grieved, the same doubtless 
being some matter of more importance than his books, 
which I could not draw from him ; yet by circumstance 
I gathered the same to be the ore which Daniel the 
Saxon had brought unto him in the Newfoundland. 
Whatsoever it was, the remembrance touched him so 
deep, as, not able to contain himself, he beat his boy 
in great rage, even at the same time, so long after 
the miscarrying of the great ship, because upon a fair 
day, when we were becalmed upon the coast of the 
Newfoundland, near unto Cape Race, he sent his boy 



THE VOYAGE HOME. 1 23 

aboard the admiral, to fetch certain things, amongst 
which, this being chief, was yet forgotten and left be- 
hind. After which time he could never conveniently 
send again aboard the great ship, much less he doubted 
her ruin so near at hand. 

Herein my opinion was better confirmed diversely, 
and by sundry conjectures, which maketh me have the 
greater hope of this rich mine. For whereas the 
general had never before good conceit of these north 
parts of the world, now his mind was wholly fixed 
upon the Newfoundland ; and as before he refused not 
to grant assignments liberally to them that required 
the same into these north parts, now he became con- 
trarily affected, refusing to make any so large grants, 
especially of St. Johns, which certain English merchants 
made suit for, offering to employ their money and travel 
upon the same j yet neither by their own suit, nor of 
others of his own company, whom he seemed wilhng to 
pleasure, it could be obtained. 

Also laying down his determination in the spring 
following for disposing of his voyage then to be re- 
attempted, he assigned the captain and master of the 
" Golden Hinde " unto the south discovery, and re- 
served unto himself the north, afiirming that this voyage 
had won his heart from the south, and that he was now 
become a northern man altogether. 

Last, being demanded what means he had at his 
arrival in England to compass the charges of so great 
a preparation as he intended to make the next spring, 
having determined upon two fleets, one for the south, 
another for the north : " Leave that to me," he replied ; 
*^ I will ask a penny of no man. I will bring good tidings 
unto her Majesty, who will be so gracious to lend me 



124 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

one thousand pounds, willing us therefore to be of good 
cheer ; for he did thank God/' he said, " with all his 
heart, for that he had seen, the same being enough for 
us all, and that we needed not to seek any further." 
And these last words he would often repeat, with dem- 
onstrations of great fervency of mind, being himself 
very confident and settled in belief of inestimable good 
by this voyage ; which the greater number of his follow- 
ers nevertheless mistrusted altogether, not being made 
partakers of those secrets, which the general kept unto 
himself. Yet all of them that are living may be wit- 
nesses of his words and protestations, which sparingly 
I have delivered. 

Leaving the issue of this good hope unto God, who 
knoweth the truth only, and can at his good pleasure 
bring the same to light, I will hasten to the end of this 
tragedy, which must be knit up in the person of our 
general. And as it was God's ordinance upon him, 
even so the vehement persuasion and entreaty of his 
friends could nothing avail to divert him from a wilful 
resolution of going through in his frigate, which was 
overcharged upon their decks, with fights, nettings, and 
small artillery, too cumbersome for so small a boat, that 
was to pass through the ocean sea at that season of the 
year, when by course we might expect much storm of 
foul weather, whereof indeed we had enough. 

But when he was entreated by the captain, master, 
and other his well-willers of the " Hinde,'' not to ven- 
ture in the frigate, this was his answer : " I will not for- 
sake my little company going homeward, with whom I 
have passed so many storms and perils." And in very 
truth he was urged to be so over hard, by hard reports 
given of him, that he was afraid of the sea, albeit this 



ST, ELMO'S FIRE. 12$ 

was rather rashness than advised resolution, to prefer 
the wind of a vain report to the weight of his own Hfe. 

Seeing he would not bend to reason, he had provision 
out of the " Hinde '' such as was wanting aboard his 
frigate. And so we committed him to God's protection, 
and set him aboard his pinnace, we being more than 
three hundred leagues onward of our way home. 

By that time we had brought the Islands of Azores 
south of us, yet we then keeping much to the north, 
until we had got into the height and elevation of Eng- 
land ; we met with very foul weather, and terrible seas, 
breaking short and high, pyramid-wise. The reason 
whereof seemed to proceed either of hilly grounds high 
and low within the sea (as we see hills and dales upon 
the land), upon which the seas do mount and fall ; or 
else the cause proceedeth of diversity of winds, shifting 
often in sundry points ; all which having power to move 
the great ocean, which again is not presently settled, so 
many seas do encounter together, as there had been 
diversities of winds. Howsoever it cometh to pass, men 
which all their lifetime had occupied the sea, never saw 
more outrageous seas. We had also upon our main yard 
an apparition of a little fire by night, which seamen do 
call Castor and Pollux. But we had only one, which 
they take an evil sign of more tempest; the same is 
usual in storms. 

Monday, the 9th of September, in the afternoon, the 
frigate was near cast away, oppressed by waves, yet at 
the same time recovered ; and giving forth signs of joy, 
the general sitting abaft with a book in his hand, cried 
out unto us in the " Hinde " (so oft as we did approach 
within hearing), " We are as near to heaven by sea as 
by land," reiterating the same speech, well beseeming a 



126 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

soldier, resolute in Jesus Christ, as I can testify he 
was. 

The same Monday night, about twelve of the clock, 
or not long after, the frigate being ahead of us in the 
" Golden Hinde,'* suddenly her lights were out, whereof 
as it were in a moment we lost the sight, and withal 
our watch cried the general was cast away, which 
was too true. For in that moment the frigate was 
devoured and swallowed up of the sea. Yet still we 
looked out all that night, and ever after, until we arrived 
upon the coast of England ; omitting no small sail at 
sea, unto which we gave not the tokens between us 
agreed upon to have perfect knowledge of each other, if 
we should at any time be separated. 

In great torment of weather, and peril of drowning, it 
pleased God to send safe home the " Golden Hinde," 
which arrived in Falmouth the twenty-second day of 
September, being Sunday, not without as great danger 
escaped in a flaw, coming from the southeast, with such 
thick mist that we could not discern the land, to put in 
right with the haven. 

From Falmouth we went to Dartmouth, and lay there 
at anchor before the Range, while the captain went 
aland, to inquire if there had been any news of the frigate, 
which, sailing well, might happily have been before us. 
Also to certify Sir John Gilbert, brother unto the general, 
of our hard success, whom the captain desired (while his 
men were yet aboard him, and were witnesses of all 
occurrents in that voyage), it might please him to take 
the examination of every person particularly, in discharge 
of his and their faithful endeavor. Sir John refused so 
to do, holding himself satisfied with report made by the 
captain ; and not altogether despairing of his brother's 



BARTHOLOMEW GOSNOLL, 12/ 

safety, offered friendship and courtesy to the captain 
and his company, requiring to have his bark brought 
into the harbor ; in furtherance whereof, a boat was sent 
to help to tow her in. 

Among the other books which Uncle Fritz had on the 
table w^as " The General History of Virginia," by Cap- 
tain John Smith. The children were all interested in 
this book, and Bedford read several extracts from it 
aloud. 



BARTHOLOMEW GOSNOLLi AND MARTHA'S 
VINEYARD. 

All hopes of Virginia thus abandoned, it lay dead 
and obscured from 1590 till this year 1602, that Cap- 
tain Gosnoll, with thirty-two and himself in a small 
bark, set sail from Dartmouth upon the 26th of March. 
Though the wind favored us not at the first, but forced 
us as far southward as the Azores, which was not much 
out of our way ; we ran directly west from thence, 
whereby we made our journey shorter than heretofore 
by five hundred leagues. The weakness of our ship, the 
badness of our sailors, and our ignorance of the coast, 
caused us to carry but a low sail, that made our passage 
longer than we expected. 

On Friday, the nth of May, we made land. It was 
somewhat low, where appeared certain hummocks or 
hills in it ; the shore white sand, but very rocky, yet 
overgrown with fair trees. Coming to an anchor, eight 
Indians in a baske shallop, with mast and sail, came 
boldly aboard us. It seemed by their signs, and such 

1 The name of Gosnoll is elsewhere spelled Gosnold. 



1 2 8 STORIES OF DISCO VER V. 

things as they had, some Biskiners had fished there ; 
being about the latitude of 43 '^. But the harbor being 
nought, and doubting the weather, we went not ashore, 
but weighed, and stood to the southward into the sea. 
The next morning we found ourselves embayed with a 
mighty headland ; within a league of the shore we an- 
chored, and Captain Gosnoll, myself,^ and three others 
went to it in a boat, being a white sand and a bold coast. 
Though the weather was hot, we marched to the highest 
hills we could see; where we perceived the headland 
part of the main near environed with islands. As we 
were returning to our ship, a good, proper, lusty young 
man came to us, with w^hom we had but small confer- 
ence, and so we left him. Here in five or six hours we 
took more cod than we knew what to do with, which 
made us persuade ourselves there might be found a 
good fishing in March, April, and May. 

At length we came among these fair isles, some a 
league, or two, three, five, or six from the main ; by one 
of them we anchored. We found it four miles in com- 
pass, without house or inhabitant. In it is a lake near 
a mile in circuit ; the rest is overgrown with trees, which, 
so well as the bushes, were so overgrown with vines we 
could scarce pass them ; and by the blossoms we might 
perceive there would be plenty of strawberries, respises, 
gooseberries, and divers other fruits : besides deer and 
other beasts we saw, and cranes, herons with divers 
other sorts of fowl ; which made us call it Martha's 
Vineyard. 

The rest of the isles are replenished with such like ; 
very rocky, and much-tinctured stone-like mineral. 
Though we met many Indians, yet we could not see 

1 This is written by John Brierton, one of the voyagers. 



ELIZABETH'S ISLE. 1 29 

their habitations ; they gave us fish, tobacco, and such 
things as they had. But the next isle we arrived at 
was but two leagues from the main, and sixteen miles 
about, environed so with creeks and coves it seemed 
like many isles linked together by small passages like 
bridges. In it are many places of plain grass, and such 
other fruits and berries as before were mentioned. In 
mid-May we did sow wheat, barley, oats, and pease, 
which in fourteen days sprung up nine inches. The 
soil is fat and lusty, the crust whereof gray, a foot or 
less in depth. It is full of high timbered oaks, their 
leaves thrice so broad as ours ; cedar straight and tall, 
beech, holly, walnut, hazel, cherry-trees like ours, but 
the stalk beareth the blossom or fruit thereof like a 
cluster of grapes, forty or fifty in a bunch. There is 
a tree of orange color, whose bark in the filing is as 
smooth as velvet. There is a lake of fresh water three 
miles in compass, in the midst an isle containing an 
acre or thereabouts overgrown with wood ; here are 
many tortoises, and abundance of all sorts of fowls, 
whose young ones we took and eat at our pleasure. 
Ground-nuts as big as eggs, as good as potatoes and 
forty on a string, not two inches under ground. All 
sorts of shellfish, as scollops, mussels, cockles, crabs, 
lobsters, welks, oysters, exceeding good and very great ; 
but, not to cloy you with particulars, what God and 
nature hath bestowed on those places, I refer you to 
the author's own writing at large. We called this place 
Elizabeth's Isle, from whence we went right over to the 
main, where we stood for a while as ravished at the 
beauty and delicacy of the sweetness, besides divers 
clear lakes, whereof we saw no end, and meadows very 
large and full of green grass. 

9 



130 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

Here we espied seven savages ; at first they expressed 
some fear, but by our courteous usage of them they 
followed us to the neck of land, which we thought had 
been severed from the main, but we found it otherwise. 
Here we imagined was a river, but because the day was 
far spent, we left to discover it till better leisure. But 
of good harbors there is no doubt, considering the land 
is all rocky and broken lands. The next day we deter- 
mined to fortify ourselves in the isle in the lake. Three 
weeks we spent in building us there a house. But the sec- 
ond day after our coming from the main, eleven canoes 
with near fifty savages came towards us. Being unwilling 
they should see our building, we went to, and exchanged 
with them knives, hatchets, beads, bells, and such trifles, 
for some beavers, lizards, martins, foxes, wild cat-skins, 
and such like. We saw them have much red copper, 
whereof they make chains, collars, and drinking cups, 
which they so little esteemed they would give them us 
for small toys, and signified unto us they had it out of 
the earth in the main. Three days they stayed with 
us, but every night retired two or three miles from us ; 
afterwards with many signs of love and friendship they 
departed, seven of them staying behind, that did help 
us to dig and carry sassafras and do anything they could, 
being of comely proportion and the best condition of 
any savages we had yet encountered. They have no 
beards but counterfeits, as they did think ours also 
were, for which they would have changed with some of 
our men that had great beards. Some of the baser 
sort would steal ; but the better sort we found very 
civil and just. We saw but three of their women, and 
they were but of mean stature, attired in skins like the 
men, but fat and well-favored. The wholesomeness and 




CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH 



JAMESTOWN, 131 

temperature of this climate doth not only argue the 
people to be answerable to this description, but also of 
a perfect constitution of body, active, strong, healthful, 
and very witty, as the sundry toys by them so cun- 
ningly wrought may well testify. For ourselves, we 
found ourselves rather increase in health and strength 
than otherwise ; for all our toil, bad diet and lodging, 
yet not one of us was touched by any sickness. Twelve 
intended here awhile to have stayed, but upon better 
consideration, how meanly we were provided, we left 
this island (with as many true sorrowful eyes as were 
before desirous to see it) the i8th of June, and arrived 
at Exmouth the 23d of July. 

Rather more interesting than Bartholomew Gosnoll 
was thought the account of Jamestown and Captain 
John Smith himself, and of Pocahontas. 

THE FIRST SETTLEMENT AT JAMESTOWN. 

It might well be thought a country so fair (as Vir- 
ginia is) and a people so tractable would long ere this 
have been quietly possessed, to the satisfaction of the 
adventurers, and the eternizing of the memory of those 
that eifected it. But because all the world do see a 
defailment, this following treatise shall give satisfac- 
tion to all indifferent readers, how the business hath 
been carried ; where no doubt they will easily under- 
stand and answer to their question, how it came to pass 
there was no better speed and success in those proceed- 
ings. Captain Bartholomew Gosnoll, one of the first 
movers of this plantation, having many years solicited 
many of his friends, but found small assistance, at last 



132 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

prevailed with some gentlemen, as Captain John Smith, 
Mr. Edward-Maria Wingfield, Mr. Robert Hunt, and 
divers others, who depended a year upon his projects ; 
but nothing could be effected, till by their great charge 
and industry it came to be apprehended by certain of 
the nobility, gentry, and merchants, so that his Majesty 
by his letters-patent gave commission for establishing 
councils, to direct here ; and to govern, and to execute 
these. To effect this was spent another year, and by 
that, three ships were provided, one of one hundred 
tons, another of forty, and a pinnace of twenty. The 
transportation of the company was committed to Cap- 
tain Christopher Newport, a mariner well practised for 
the western parts of America. But their orders for 
government were put in a box, not to be opened, nor 
the governors known, until they arrived in Virginia. 

On the 19th of December, 1606, we set sail from 
Blackwall, but by unprosperous winds were kept six 
weeks in the sight of England ; all which time Mr. 
Hunt our preacher was so weak and sick that few 
expected his recovery. Yet although he was but 
twenty miles from his habitation (the time we were in 
the Downs), and notwithstanding the stormy weather, 
nor the scandalous imputations (of some few, little bet- 
ter than Atheists, of the greatest rank amongst us) 
suggested against him, all this could never force from 
him so much as a seeming desire to leave the business, 
but preferred the service of God in so good a voyage, 
before any affection to contest with his godless foes, 
whose disastrous designs (could they have prevailed) 
had even then overthrown the business, so many dis- 
contents did then arise, had he not with the water of 
patience, and his godly exhortations, but chiefly by his 



CAPE HENRY. 1 33 

true devoted examples, quenched those flames of envy 
and dissension. 

We watered at the Canaries, we traded with the sav- 
ages at Dominica \ three weeks we spent in refreshing 
ourselves amongst these West India Isles ; in Guada- 
loupe we found a bath so hot, as in it we boiled pork as 
well as over the fire. And at a little isle called Monica 
we took from the bushes, with our hands, near two 
hogsheads full of birds in three or four hours. In 
Mevis, Mona, and the Virgin Isles we spent some time, 
where, with a loathsome beast like a crocodile, called 
a gwayn,^ tortoises, pelicans, parrots, and fishes, we 
daily feasted. Gone from thence in search of Virginia, 
the company was not a little discomforted, seeing the 
mariners had three days passed their reckoning and 
found no land, so that Captain Ratcliffe (captain of the 
pinnace) rather desired to bear up the helm to return 
for England, than make further search. But God, the 
guider of all good actions, forcing them by an extreme 
storm to hull all night, did drive them by his providence 
to their desired port, beyond all their expectations, for 
never any of them had seen that coast. The first land 
they made they called Cape Henry ; where thirty of 
them, recreating themselves on shore, were assaulted by 
five savages, who hurt two of the English very danger- 
ously. That night was the box opened, and the orders 
read, in which Bartholomew Gosnoll, John Smith, Ed- 
ward Wingfield, Christopher Newport, John Ratcliffe, 
John Martin, and George Kendall were named to be 
Council, and to choose a President amongst them for a 
year, who with the Council should govern. Matters of 
moment were to be examined by a jury, but determined 

1 An iguana. 



134 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

by the major part of the Council, in which the President 
had two voices. Until the 13th of May they sought a 
place to plant in ; then the Council was sworn, Mr. 
Wingfield was chosen President, and an oration made, 
why Captain Smith was not admitted of the Council as 
the rest. 

Now falleth every man to work, the Council contrive 
the fort, the rest cut down trees to make place to pitch 
their tents ; some provide clapboards to relade the 
ships, some make gardens, some nets, etc. The sav- 
ages often visited us kindly. The President's over- 
weening jealousy would admit no exercise at arms or 
fortification, but the boughs of trees cast together in 
the form of a half-moon by the extraordinary pains and 
diligence of Captain Kendall. Newport, Smith, and 
twenty others were sent to discover the head of the 
river. By divers small habitations they passed ; in six 
days they arrived at a town called Powhatan, consisting 
of some twelve houses, pleasantly seated on a hill ; be- 
fore it three fertile islands, about it many of their corn- 
fields. The place is very pleasant and strong by nature. 
Of this place the prince is called Powhatan, and his 
people Powhatans ; to this place the river is navigable. 
But higher within a mile, by reason of the rocks and 
isles, there is no passage for a small boat ; this they call 
the falls. The people in all parts kindly entreated them, 
till, being returned within twenty miles of Jamestown, 
they gave just cause of jealousy. But had God not 
blessed the discoveries otherwise than those at the fort, 
there had been an end of that plantation ; for at the 
fort, where they arrived the next day, they found seven- 
teen men hurt, and a boy slain by the savages, and had 
it not chanced a cross-bar shot from the ships struck 



RETURN OF NEWPORT, 



135 



down a bough from a tree amongst them, that caused 
them to retire, our men had all been slain, being securely 
all at work and their arms in dry fats. 

Hereupon the President was contented the fort 
should be palisadoed, the ordnance mounted, his men 
armed and exercised, for many were the assaults and 
ambuscadoes of the savages, and our men by their dis- 
orderly straggling were often hurt, when the savages, by 
the nimbleness of their heels, well escaped. What toil 
we had, with so small a power to guard our workmen 
adays, watch all night, resist our enemies, and effect our 
business, to relade the ships, cut down the trees, and 
prepare the ground to plant our corn, etc., I refer to 
the reader's consideration. Six weeks being spent in 
this manner, Captain Newport (who was hired only for 
our transportation) was to return with the ships. Now 
Captain Smith, who all this time from their departure 
from the Canaries was restrained as a prisoner upon 
the scandalous suggestions of some of the chief (envy- 
ing his repute), who feigned he intended to usurp the 
government, murder the Council, and make himself 
king, that his confederates were dispersed in all the 
three ships, and that divers of his confederates that 
revealed it, would affirm it, for this he was committed 
as a prisoner. Thirteen weeks he remained thus sus- 
pected, and by that time the ships should return they 
pretended out of their commiserations, to refer him to 
the Council in England to receive a check, rather than 
by particulating his designs to make him so odious to 
the world, as to touch his life or to utterly overthrow his 
reputation. But he so much scorned their charity, and 
publicly defied the uttermost of their cruelty, he wisely 
prevented their policies, though he could not suppress 



136 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

their envy, yet so well he demeaned himself in this busi- 
ness, as all the company did see his innocency^ and his 
adversaries' malice, and those suborned to accuse him 
accused his accusers of subornation. Many untruths 
were alleged against him ; but, being so apparently 
disproved, begat a general hatred in the hearts of the 
company against such unjust commanders, that the 
President was adjudged to give him ;^2oo, so that all 
he had was seized upon, in part of satisfaction, which 
Smith presently returned to the store for the general 
use of the colony. Many were the mischiefs that daily 
sprung from their ignorant (yet ambitious) spirits ; but 
the good doctrine and exhortation of our preacher, 
Mr. Hunt, reconciled them, and caused Captain Smith 
to be admitted of the Council ; the next day all re- 
ceived the Communion, the day following the savages 
voluntarily desired peace, and Captain Newport returned 
for England with news; leaving in Virginia one hun- 
dred, the 15th of June, 1607. 

CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS. 

The next voyage,^ he proceeded so far that with much 
labor by cutting of trees in sunder he made his passage, 
but when his barge could press no farther, he left her 
in a broad bay out of danger of shot, commanding none 
should go ashore till his return ; he himself with two 
English and two savages went up higher in a canoe, but 
he was not long absent, but his men went ashore, whose 
want of government gave both occasion and opportunity 
to the savages to surprise one George Cassen, whom they 
slew, and much failed not to have cut off the boat and 

1 Smith had been making exploring voyages on the river. 



CAPTURE OF CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH, 1 37 

all the rest. Smith, little dreaming of that accident, 
being got to the marshes at the river's head, twenty 
miles in the desert, had his two men slain (as is supposed) 
sleeping by the canoe, whilst himself by fowling sought 
them victual, who, finding he was beset with two hundred, 
two of them he slew, still defending himself with the aid 
of a savage his guide, whom he bound to his arm with his 
garters, and used him as a buckler ; yet he was shot in 
the thigh a little, and had many arrows stuck in his 
clothes, but no great hurt, till at last they took him pris- 
oner. When this news came to Jamestown, much was 
their sorrow for his loss, few expecting what ensued. 
Six or seven weeks those barbarians kept him prisoner. 
Many strange triumphs and conjurations they made of 
him, yet he so demeaned himself amongst them, as he 
not only diverted them from surprising the fort, but pro- 
cured his own liberty, and got himself and his company 
such estimation amongst them that those savages ad- 
mired him more than their own Quiyoucko sucks. The 
manner how they used and delivered him is as follow^eth. 
The savages having drawn from George Cassen 
whither Captain Smith was gone, prosecuting that op- 
portunity they followed him with three hundred bowmen, 
conducted by the King of Pamaonkee, who in divisions 
searching the turnings of the river, found Robinson and 
Emry by the fireside ; those they shot full of arrows and 
slew. Then finding the captain, as is said, that used 
the savage that was his guide as his shield (three of 
them being slain and divers others so galled), all the rest 
would not come near him. Thinking thus to have re- 
turned to his boat, regarding them, as he marched, more 
than his way, slipped up to the middle in an oozy creek 
and his savage with him, yet durst they not come to him 



138 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

till, being near dead with cold, he threw away his arms. 
Then according to their composition they drew him forth 
and led him to the fire where his men were slain. Dili- 
gently they chafed his benumbed limbs. He demanding 
for their captain, they showed him Opechankanough, 
King of Pamaonkee, to whom he gave a round ivory 
double compass dial. Much they marvelled at the play- 
ing of the fly and needle, which they could see so plainly, 
and yet not touch it because of the glass which covered 
them. But when he demonstrated by that globe-like jewel 
the roundness of the earth, and skies, the sphere of the 
sun, moon, and stars, and how the sun did chase the 
night round about the world continually ; the greatness 
of the land and sea, the diversity of nations, variety of 
complexions, and how we were to them antipodes, and 
many other such like matters, they all stood as amazed 
with admiration. Notwithstanding, within an hour after 
they tied him to a tree, and as many as could stand 
about him prepared to shoot him ; but the king holding 
up the compass in his hand, they all laid down their 
bows and arrows, and in a triumphant manner led him 
to Orapates, where he was after their manner kindly 
feasted, and well used. 

Their order in conducting him was thus: drawing 
themselves all in file, the king in the midst had all their 
pieces and swords borne before him. Captain Smith 
was led after him by three great savages, holding fast by 
each arm ; but on arriving at the town (which was but 
thirty or forty hunting houses made of mats, which they 
remove as they please, as we our tents), all the women 
and children staring to behold him, the soldiers first all 
in file performed the form of a Bissom so well as could 
be j and on each flank, oflicers as sergeants to see them 



AMONG THE INDIANS, 1 39 

keep their order. A good time they continued this 
exercise, and then cast themselves in a ring, dancing in 
such several postures, and singing and yelling out such 
hellish notes and screeches, being strangely painted, 
every one his quiver of arrows, and at his back a club ; 
on his arm a fox or otter's skin, or some such matter for 
his vambrace ; their heads and shoulders painted red, 
with oil and pocones mingled together, which scarlet-like 
color made an exceeding handsome show, his bow 
in his hand, and the skin of a bird with her wings 
abroad dried, tied on his head, a piece of copper, a 
white shell, a long feather, with a small rattle growing at 
the tails of their snakes tied to it, or some such like toy. 
All this while Smith and the king stood in the midst 
guarded, as before is said, and after three dances they 
all departed. Smith they conducted to a long house, 
where thirty or forty tall fellows did guard him, and ere 
long more bread and venison was brought him than 
would have served twenty men j I think his stomach at 
that time was not very good. What he left they put in 
baskets and tied over his head. About midnight they 
set the meat again before him ; all this time not one 
of them would eat a bit with him, tiH the next morning 
they brought him as much more, and then did they eat 
all the old, and reserved the new as they had done the 
other, which made him think they would fat him to eat 
him. Yet in this desperate estate, to defend him from 
the cold, one Maocassater brought him his gown, in re- 
quital of some beads and toys Smith had given him at 
his first arrival in Virginia. 

Two days after, a man would have slain him (but that 
the guard prevented it) for the death of his son, to whom 
they conducted him to recover the poor man then breath- 



I40 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

ing his last. Smith told them that at Jamestown he had 
a water would do it, if they would let him fetch it ; but 
they would not permit that, but made all the prepara- 
tions they could to assault Jamestown, craving his advice, 
and for recompense he should have life, liberty, land, 
and women. In part of a table book he wrote his mind 
to them at the fort, what was intended, how they should 
follow that direction to affright the messengers, and 
without fail send him such things as he writ for, and 
an inventory with them. The difficulty and danger he 
told the savages, of the mines, great guns, and other 
engines, exceedingly affrighted them ; yet according to 
his request they went to Jamestown, in as bitter weather 
as could be of frost and snow, and within three days 
returned with an answer. 

But when they came to Jamestown, seeing men sally 
out as he had told them they would, they fled ; yet in 
the night they came again to the same place where he 
had told them they should receive an answer, and such 
things as he had promised them, which they found ac- 
cordingly, and with which they returned no small ex- 
pedition, to the wonder of them all that heard it, that he 
could either divine, or the paper could speak. . . . 

Not long after, early in the morning a great fire was 
made in a long house, and a mat spread on one side, as 
on the other ; on the one they caused him to sit, and all 
the guard went out of the house, and presently came 
skipping in a great grim fellow, all painted over with 
coal, mingled with oil ; and many snakes' and weasels' 
skins stuffed with moss, and all their tails tied together, 
so as they met on the crown of his head in a tassel ; 
and round the tassel was a coronet of feathers, the skins 
hanging round about his head, back, and shoulders, 



A STRANGE CEREMONY, I4I 

and in a manner covered his face ; with a hellish voice 
and a rattle in his hand, with most strange gestures and 
passions, he began his invocation, and environed the fire 
with a circle of meal ; which done, three more such like 
devils came rushing in with the like antique tricks, 
painted half black, half red ; but all their eyes were 
painted white, and some red strokes like mustachios, 
along their cheeks ; round him those fiends danced a 
pretty while, and then came in three more, as ugly as 
the rest, with red eyes, and white strokes over their 
black faces. At last they all sat down right against 
him ; three of them on the one hand of the priest, and 
three on the other. Then all with their rattles began 
a song, which ended, the priest laid down five wheat 
corns ; then straining his arms and hands with such 
violence that he sweat and his veins swelled, he began 
a short oration j at the conclusion they all gave a short 
groan, and then laid down three grains more. After 
that, began their song again, and then another oration, 
ever laying down so many corns as before, till they had 
twice encircled the fire ; that done^ they took a bunch of 
little sticks prepared for that purpose, continuing still 
their devotion, and at the end of every song and oration 
they laid down a stick between the divisions of corn. Till 
night, neither he nor they did either eat or drink, and 
then they feasted merrily, with the best provision they 
could make. Three days they used this ceremony ; the 
meaning whereof, they told him, was to know if he in- 
tended them well or no. The circle of meal signified 
their country, the circles of corn the bounds of the sea, 
and the sticks his country. They imagined the world to 
be fiat and round, like a trencher, and they in the midst. 
After this they brought him a bag of gunpowder, which 



142 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

they carefully preserved till the next spring, to plant as 
they do their corn ; because they would be acquainted 
with the nature of that seed. Opitchapam, the king's 
brother, invited him to his house, where, with as many 
platters of bread, fowl, and wild beasts as did environ 
him, he bid him welcome ; but not any of them would 
eat a bit with him, but put up all the remainder in 
baskets. At his return to Opechankanough's, all the 
king's women, and their children, flocked around him 
for their parts, as a due by custom, to be merry with 
such fragments. ... 

At last they brought him to Meronocomoco, where was 
Powhatan their emperor. Here more than two hundred 
of those grim courtiers stood wondering at him, as he 
had been a monster ; till Powhatan and his train had 
put themselves in their greatest braveries. Before a fire, 
upon a seat like a bedstead, he sat covered with a great 
robe, made of raccoon skins, and all the tails hanging 
by. On either hand did sit a young wench of sixteen or 
eighteen years, and along on each side the house two 
rows of men, and behind them as many women, with all 
their heads and shoulders painted red ; many of their 
heads bedecked with the white down of birds, but every 
one with something, and a great chain of white beads 
about their necks. At his entrance before the king all 
the people gave a great shout. The Queen of Appama- 
tuck was appointed to bring him water to wash his hands, 
and another brought him a bunch of feathers, instead of 
a towel, to dry them ; having feasted him after their best 
barbarous manner they could, a long consultation was 
held, but the conclusion was, two great stones were 
brought before Powhatan ; then as many as could laid 
hands on him, dragged him to them, and thereon laid 




P rlmj^hkr Fftfcalw>«ta s be^js his life h is tk^n ^ Unejs 



POCAHONTAS PLEADING FOR THE LIFE OF JOHN SMITH 



POWHATAN, 143 

his head, and being ready with their clubs to beat out 
his brains, Pocahontas, the king^s dearest daughter, 
when no entreaty could prevail, got his head in her 
arms, and laid her own upon him to save him from 
death; whereat the emperor was contented he should 
live to make him hatchets, and her, bells, beads, and 
copper ; for they thought him as well of all occupations 
as themselves. For the king himself will make his own 
robe, shoes, bows, arrows, pots ; plant, hunt, or do any- 
thing, so well as the rest. 

Two days after, Powhatan having disguised himself in 
the most fearfulest manner he could, caused Captain 
Smith to be brought forth to a great house in the woods, 
and there upon a mat by the fire to be let alone. Not 
long after, from behind a mat that divided the house was 
made the most dolefulest noise he ever heard ; then 
Powhatan, more like a devil than a man, with some two 
hundred more as black as himself, came unto him and 
told him now they were friends, and presently should go 
to Jamestown, to send him two great guns, and a grind- 
stone, for which he would give him the country of 
Capahowosick, and forever esteem him as his son 
Nantaquoud. So to Jamestown with twelve guides 
Powhatan sent him. That night they quartered in the 
woods, he still expecting (as he had done all this long 
time of his imprisonment) every hour to be put to one 
death or other, for all their fasting. But Almighty God 
(by his divine providence) had mollified the hearts of 
those stern barbarians with compassion. The next morn- 
ing betimes they came to the fort, where Smithy having 
used the savages with what kindness he could, he showed 
Rawhunt, Powhatan's trusty servant, two demi-culverins 
and a millstone to carry to Powhatan. They found them 



144 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

somewhat too heavy ; but when they did see him dis- 
charge them, being loaded with stones, among the 
boughs of a great tree loaded with icicles, the ice and 
branches came so tumbling down that the poor sav- 
ages ran away half dead with fear. But at last we re- 
gained some conference with them, and gave them such 
toys ; and sent to Powhatan, his women, and children 
such presents, and gave them in general full content. 
Now in Jamestown they were all in combustion, the 
strongest preparing once more to run away with the pin- 
nace ; which, with the hazard of his life, with saker, 
falcon, and musket shot, Smith forced now the third 
time to stay or sink. Some, no better than they should 
be, had plotted wath the President, the next day to have 
him put to death by the Levitical law, for the lives of 
Robinson and Emry,^ pretending the fault was his that 
had led them to their ends ; but he quickly took such 
order with such lawyers, that he laid them by the heels 
till he sent some of them prisoners for England. Now 
ever once in four or five days Pocahontas, with her 
attendants, brought him so much provision, that saved 
many of their lives that else for all this had starved 
with hunger. 

^ The two men who had been killed when Smith was captured. 



VI. 

VOYAGES IN THE PACIFIC. 

FERGUS said that while he had read about Balboa 
seeing the Pacific from Panama, and knew " ever 
so long ago " that Magellan sailed round the world, 
excepting those two facts, the Pacific Ocean was a 
mystery to him. 

" It is to me," said Alice, " since you proved to me 
that dear old Robinson Crusoe never went there. I 
shall never forgive you for banishing him from Juan 
Fernandez." 

Miriam said that she was brought up in a family 
where there was much missionary literature. She said 
there was one volume of " Ellis's Polynesian Research- 
es " at her grandmother's, which they could and did 
read as a Sunday book ; and when other books were 
banished, unless edifying in their character, this book 
was permitted on the table. Happy the child who first 
secured it, and revelled in bread-fruit and cocoanut 
while the others were hammering on the less attractive 
learning in Calmet. 

" But this book," said Miriam, " never told how the 
missionaries came there. The last I knew of the 
Pacific was that the buccaneers were stealing gold and 
silver there." 

10 



146 S 7^0 R IBS OF DISCOVERY. 

"Yes/' said Fergus, " it was called the Pacific because 
there was always war there." 

" Precisely. One book closed with the buccaneers, 
and the next opened with the missionaries." 

Colonel Ingham said that, in rather a rough way, 
the young people's remark described the gulf which 
exists in general history about the Pacific. Seiior Zar- 
agoza, a distinguished Spanish scholar, has recently 
brought to light some of the old Spanish voyages there. 
The Dutch names of Van Diemen's Land and Tasma- 
nia are memorials of their early adventures and great 
discoveries. But in those days voyages were terribly 
long. Unless men brought home gold, and a great 
deal of it, accounts of balmy breezes or paradise 
islands did not deeply interest adventurers. The loss 
of life and of ships was terrible. Magellan sailed with 
five ships and two hundred and thirty-six men, in an 
expedition fitted out with every resource then known. 
Of them all, seventeen men returned under Sebastian 
del Cano, almost all ill from the results of the voyage. 
Of the five ships, the " Victoria" alone remained. Of 
Drake's great expedition, also of five vessels, only the 
"Pelican " came back with him to England. 

" When the South Sea Company was established in 
England, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, 
there was a revival of interest in the Pacific. That 
company had a right to send one ship a year into that 
great ocean. It is queer enough now to see that the 
one ship which they sent touched at California and 
discovered gold, * which we lost in our confusions in 
China.' Alas ! the South Sea Company blew up at 
home, — you know by what a terrible catastrophe. 

" I think," said Colonel Ingham, " that perhaps the 



VOYAGES IN THE PACIFIC. 1 47 

very name South Sea, lingering in the memories of 
English people as a name connected with ruin and 
misery, checked for half a century much desire to 
explore the Pacific. 

"It was not till 1764, — just when the American 
troubles were beginning, — that the English government 
sent out Byron on a distinct voyage of discovery. It 
was a period of profound peace, — the French having 
ceded Canada to England the year before, — and the 
war which began with Braddock's defeat being thus 
triumphantly finished for England, thanks to the genius 
of Pitt. 

'* Byron was directed to explore the Falkland Islands, 
which had played an important part in the outbreak of 
the war with Spain. In his instructions, however, it 
was distinctly said that there was room to believe that 
between the Cape of Good Hope and the Straits of 
Magellan there might be found lands and very con- 
siderable islands, unknown till now to the powers of 
Europe, situated in latitudes convenient for navigation, 
and in climates fit for the production of different arti- 
cles useful to commerce. Nothing could contribute 
more to the glory of the nation and the dignity of the 
crown than such discoveries as were hoped for, the 
instructions said. For these discoveries first, and for 
the examination of the Falkland Islands next, Byron 
was commissioned." 

" I knew there was this Admiral Byron," said Walter, 
" and because we had a picture of Byron the poet, 
dressed as a sailor, I used to think they were the same 
man." 

Uncle Fritz laughed. " I believe the admiral was the 
great-uncle of the poet," he said. 



148 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

" Byron made, on the whole, a prosperous voyage. 
He sailed round the world in less than two years. He 
discovered some islands in the Pacific before unknown, 
and everybody was interested in his success. 

^' Six weeks after he returned, his vessel, the ' Dau- 
phin,' was put in commission again, and another voyage 
was begun. Wallis was put in command, — the same, 
Blanche, with whom your great-grandfather served at the 
capture of Louisburg.'' 

Blanche blushed, for she never knew before that her 
great-grandfather was at the capture of Louisburg. In- 
deed, she did not know his name, although she knew 
she must have had four great-grandfathers. 

'^ In this voyage was discovered, among other things, 
Pitcairn's Island, as I hope you remember.^ Wallis 
made a long stay at Tahiti, of which he took pos- 
session, calling it George III.'s Island. Carteret, his 
second, was separated from him, and made another set 
of discoveries of his own. Wallis returned to England 
at the end of two years, arriving in May, 1768. Carteret 
did not come home till March, 1769. 

'' As soon as Wallis returned, another expedition was 
fitted out, under Cook, whose name has become so 
celebrated. He sailed on his first voyage in August, 
1768. 

" But I am talking too long," said Colonel Ingham. 
" Here are some passages I have marked in the differ- 
ent reports. You will be apt to come back to them. 

'' The abridgment of Cook's voyages is a wretchedly 
dull book. But there are very good plums in the 
somewhat stilted narrative, before the ' abridgers ' got 
hold of it. Always distrust an abridgment.''^ 

1 See '' Stories of the Sea," p. 192, 



rOVAGES IN THE PACIFIC. 1 49 



AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE ISLANDERS, IN 
CAPTAIN CARTERET'S VOYAGE. 

Our men had not long returned on board,^ when we 
saw three of the natives sit down under the trees 
abreast of the ship. As they continued gazing at us 
till the afternoon, as soon as the cutter came in sight, 
not caring that both the boats should be absent at the 
same time, I sent my lieutenant in the long-boat, with 
a few beads, ribbons, and trinkets, to endeavor to 
establish some kind of intercourse with them, and by 
their means with the rest of the inhabitants ; these 
men, however, before the boat could reach the shore, 
quitted their station, and proceeded along the beach. 
As the trees would soon prevent their being seen by 
our people, who were making toward the land, we kept 
our eyes fixed upon them from the ship, and very soon 
perceived that they were met by three others. After 
some conversation, the first three went on, and those 
who met them proceeded towards the boat with a hasty 
pace. Upon this I made the signal to the lieutenant 
to be upon his guard ; and, as soon as he saw the 
Indians, observing that there were no more than three, 
he backed the boat in to the shore, and making a sign 
of friendship, held up to them the beads and ribbons 
which I had given him as presents, our people at the 
same time carefully concealing their arms. The In- 
dians, however, taking no notice of the beads and rib- 
bons, resolutely advanced within bow-shot, and then 
suddenly discharged their arrows, which happily went 
over the boat without doing any mischief ; they did not 

1 Aug. 13, 1767. 



1 5 O STORIES OF DISCO VER K 

prepare for a second discharge, but instantly ran away 
into the woods, and our people discharged some mus- 
kets after them, but none of them were wounded by 
the shot. Soon after this happened, the cutter came 
under the ship's side, and the first person that I partic- 
ularly noticed was the master, with three arrows stick- 
ing in his body. No other evidence was necessary to 
convict him of having acted contrary to my orders, 
which appeared indeed more fully from his own account 
of the matter, which it is reasonable to suppose was 
as favorable to himself as he could make it. He said 
that having seen some Indian houses with only five 
or six of the inhabitants, at a place about fourteen or 
fifteen miles to the westward of the ship's station where 
he had sounded some bays, he came to a grappling, 
and veered the boat to the beach, where he landed 
with four men, armed with muskets and pistols ; that 
the Indians at first were afraid of him, and retired, but 
that soon after they came down to him, and he gave 
them some beads and other trifles, with which they 
seemed to be much pleased ; that he then made signs 
to them for some cocoanuts, which they brought him, 
and with great appearance of friendship and hospitality 
gave him a broiled fish and some boiled yams ; that he 
then proceeded with his party to the houses, which, he 
said, were not more than fifteen or twenty yards from 
the water side, and soon after saw a great number of 
canoes coming round the western point of the bay, and 
many Indians among the trees ; that, being alarmed at 
these appearances, he hastily left the house where they 
had been received, and with the men made the best of 
his way towards the boat ; but that, before he could get 
on board, the Indians attacked as well those that were 



A REPULSE. 151 

with him as those that were in the boat, both from the 
canoes and the shore. Their number, he said, was 
between three and four hundred ; their weapons were 
bows and arrows ; the bows were six feet five inches 
long, and the arrows four feet four, which they dis- 
charged in platoons, as regularly as the best disciplined 
troops in Europe; that it being necessary to defend 
himself and his people when they were thus attacked, 
they fired among the Indians to favor their getting into 
their boat, and did great execution, killing many and 
wounding more ; that they were not, however, discour- 
aged, but continued to press forward, still discharging 
their arrows by platoons in almost one continued flight ; 
that the grappling, being foul, occasioned a delay in 
hauling off the boat, during which time he and half of 
the boat's crew were desperately wounded ; that at last 
they cut the rope, and ran off under their foresail, still 
keeping up their fire with blunderbusses, each loaded 
with eight or ten pistol balls, which the Indians re- 
turned with their arrows, those on shore wading after 
them breast high into the sea ; when they had got clear 
of these, the canoes pursued them with great fortitude 
and vigor, till one of them was sunk, and the numbers 
on board the rest greatly reduced by the fire, and then 
they returned to the shore. 

Such was the story of the master, who, with three of 
my best seamen, died some time afterwards of the 
wounds they had received ; but culpable as he appears 
to have been by his. own account, he appears to have 
been still more so by the testimony of those with him 
who survived. They said that the Indians behaved 
with the greatest confidence and friendship till he gave 
them just cause of offence, by ordering the people that 



152 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

were with him who had been regaled in one of their 
houses to cut down a cocoanut-tree, and insisting upon 
the execution of his order, notwithstanding the displeas- 
ure which the Indians strongly expressed upon the oc- 
casion. As soon as the tree fell, all of them except one, 
who seemed to be a person of authority, went away; 
and in a short time a great number of them were ob- 
served to draw together into a body among the trees, 
by a midshipman who was one of the party that were 
on shore, and who immediately acquainted the master 
with what he had seen, and told him that, from the be- 
havior of the people, he imagined an attack was in- 
tended ; that the master made light of the intelligence, 
and instead of repairing immediately to the boat, as he 
was urged to do, fired one of his pistols at a mark ; that 
the Indian who had till that time continued with them 
then left them abruptly, and joined the body in the 
wood; that the master, even after this, by an infatua- 
tion that is altogether unaccountable, continued to trifle 
away his time on shore, and did not attempt to recover 
the boat till the attack was begun. 

MATAVAI.i 

We were so delayed that in the morning of April 12th 
[1769] we were but little nearer than we had been the 
night before ; but about seven a breeze sprung up, and 
before eleven several canoes were seen making towards 
the ship. There were but few of them, however, that 
would come near; and the people in those that did, 
could not be persuaded to come on board. In every 
canoe there were young plantains, and branches of a 

1 From Cook's Voyages. 



MATAVAL 153 

tree which the Indians call E^ Midbo ; these, as we after- 
ward learnt, were brought as tokens of peace and amity, 
and the people in one of the canoes handed them up the 
ship's side, making signals at the same time with great 
earnestness, which we did not immediately understand ; 
at length we guessed that they wished these symbols 
should be placed in some conspicuous part of the ship ; 
we therefore immediately stuck them among the rigging, 
at which they expressed the greatest satisfaction. We 
then purchased their cargoes, consisting of cocoanuts 
and various kinds of fruit, which after our long voyage 
were very acceptable. 

We stood on with an easy sail all night, with sound- 
ings from twenty-two fathom to twelve, and about seven 
o'clock in the morning we came to an anchor in thirteen 
fathom, in Port Royal Bay, called by the natives Mata- 
vai. We were immediately surrounded by the natives 
in their canoes, who gave us cocoanuts, fruit resembling 
apples, bread-fruit, and some small fishes, in exchange 
^for beads and other trifles. They had with them a pig, 
which they would not part with for anything but a 
hatchet, and therefore we refused to purchase it; be- 
cause, if we gave them a hatchet for a pig now, we knew 
they would never afterwards sell one for less, and we 
could not aiford to buy as many as it was probable we 
should want at that price. 

Among others who came off to the ship was an elderly 
man, whose name, as we learnt afterwards, was Owhaw, 
and who was immediately known to Mr. Gore, and sev- 
eral others who had been here with Captain Wallis ; as 
I was informed that he had been very useful to them, I 
took him on board the ship with some others, and was 
particularly attentive to gratify him, as I hoped he 
might also be useful to us. 



1 5 4 STORIES OF DISCO VER K 

As our stay here was not likely to be very short, and 
as it was necessary that the merchandise which we had 
brought for traffic with the natives should not diminish 
in its value, which it certainly would have done if every 
person had been left at liberty to give what he pleased 
for such things as he should purchase, at the same 
time that confusion and quarrels must necessarily have 
arisen from there being no standard at market, I drew 
up a code of rules and ordered that they should be 
punctually observed. . . . 

As soon as the ship was properly secured, I went on 
shore with Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, a party of men 
under arms, and our friend Owhaw. We were received 
from the boat by some hundreds of the inhabitants, 
whose looks at least gave us welcome, though they were 
struck with such awe that the first who approached us 
crouched so low that he almost crept upon his hands 
and knees. It is remarkable that he, like the people in 
the canoes, presented to us the same symbol of peace 
that is known to have been in use among the ancient 
and mighty nations of the northern hemisphere, — the 
green branch of a tree. We received it with looks and 
gestures of kindness and satisfaction ; and, observing 
that each of them held one in his hand, we immediately 
gathered every one a bough, and carried it in our hands 
in the same manner. 

They marched with us about half a mile towards the 
place where the " Dolphin " had watered, conducted by 
Owhaw ; they then made a full stop, and, having laid 
the ground bare by clearing away all the plants that 
grew upon it, the principal persons among them threw 
their green branches upon the naked spot, and made 
signs that we should do the same; we immediately 



ARCADIA. 15s 

showed our readiness to comply, and, to give a greater 
solemnity to the rite, the mariners were drawn up, and, 
marching in order, each dropped his bough upon those 
of the Indians, and we followed their example. We 
then proceeded, and when we came to the watering- 
place it was intimated to us by signs that we might oc- 
cupy that ground, but it happened not to be fit for our 
purpose. During our walk they had shaken off their 
first timid sense of our superiority, and were become 
familiar ; they went with us from the watering-place and 
took a circuit through the woods. As we went along, 
we distributed beads and other small presents among 
them, and had the satisfaction to see that they were 
much gratified. Our circuit was not less than four or 
five miles, through groves of trees which were loaded 
with cocoanuts and bread-fruit, and afforded the most 
grateful shade. Under these trees were the habitations 
of the people, most of them being only a roof wdthout 
walls, and the whole scene realized the poetical fables 
of Arcadia. We remarked, however, not without some 
regret, that in all our walk we had seen only two hogs, 
and not a single fowl. Those of our company who had 
been here with the " Dolphin " told us that none of the 
people whom we had yet seen were of the first class ; 
they suspected that the chiefs had removed, and upon 
carrying us to the place where what they called the 
queen's palace had stood, we found that no traces of it 
were left. We determined, therefore, to return in the 
morning and endeavor to find out the 7ioblesse in their 
retreats. 



156 STORIES OF DISC OVER Y^ 



A LANDING IN NEW ZEALAND. 

On the 7th of October [1769] it fell calm; we there- 
fore approached the land slowly, and in the afternoon, 
when a breeze sprung up, we were still distant seven or 
eight leagues. It appeared still larger as it was more 
distinctly seen, with four or five ranges of hills, rising 
one over the other, and a chain of mountains above all, 
which appeared to be of an enormous height. This land 
became the subject of much eager conversation; but 
the general opinion seemed to be that we had found the 
Terra Australis incognita. About five o'clock we saw 
the opening of a bay, which seemed to run pretty far 
inland, upon which we hauled our wind and stood in for 
it ; we also saw smoke ascending from different places 
on shore. When night came on, however, we kept ply- 
ing off and on till daylight, when we found ourselves to 
the leeward of the bay, the wind being at north. We 
could now perceive that the hills were clothed with 
wood, and that some of the trees in the valleys were 
very large. 

By noon we fetched in with the southwest point, but 
not being able to weather it, tacked and stood ofE : at 
this time we saw several canoes standing across the bay, 
which in a little time made to shore, without seeming to 
take the . least notice of the ship ; we also saw some 
houses, which appeared to be small but neat, and near 
one of them a considerable number of the people col- 
lected together, who were sitting upon the beach, and 
who, we thought, were the same that we had seen in the 
canoes. Upon a small peninsula, at the northeast head, 
we could plainly perceive a pretty high and regular pal- 




CAPTAIN COOK ATTACKED BY NATIVES 



INHOSPITABLE RECEPTION. 1 57 

ing, which enclosed the whole top of a hill ; this was 
also the subject of much speculation, some supposing it 
to be a park of deer, others an enclosure for oxen and 
sheep. About four o'clock in the afternoon we an- 
chored on the northwest side of the bay, before the 
entrance of a small river, in ten fathom water, with a 
fine sandy bottom, and at about half a league from the 
shore. The sides of the bay are white cliffs of a great 
height ; the middle is low land, with hills gradually ris- 
ing behind, one towering above another, and terminating 
in the chain of mountains which appeared to be far 
inland. 

In the evening I went on shore, accompanied by Mr. 
Banks and Dr. Solander, with the pinnace and yawl and 
a party of men. We landed abreast of the ship, on the 
east side of the river, which was here about forty yards 
broad ; but seeing some natives on the west side whom 
I wished to speak with, and finding the river not forda- 
ble, I ordered the yawl in to carry us over, and left the 
pinnace at the entrance. When we came near the place 
where the people were assembled, they all ran away; 
however, we landed, and leaving four boys to take care 
of the yawl, we walked up to some huts which were 
about two or three hundred yards from the w^ater side. 
When we had got some distance from the boat, four 
men, armed with long lances, rushed out of the woods, 
and, running up to attack the boat, would certainly have 
cut her off if the people in the pinnace had not discov- 
ered them, and called to the boys to drop down the 
stream. The boys instantly obeyed ; but, being closely 
pursued by the Indians, the cockswain of the pinnace, 
who had the charge of the boats, fired a musket over 
their heads; at this they stopped and looked round 



158 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, ' 

them, but in a few minutes renewed the pursuit, bran- 
dishing their lances in a threatening manner. The 
cockswain then fired a second musket over their heads, 
but of this they took no notice ; and one of them lifting 
up his spear to dart it at the boat, another piece was 
fired, which shot him dead. When he fell, the other 
three stood motionless for some minutes, as petrified 
with astonishment; as soon as they recovered, they 
went back, dragging after them the dead body, which^ 
however, they soon left, that it might not encumber their 
flight. At the report of the first musket we drew to- 
gether, having straggled to a little distance from each 
other, and made the best of our way back to the boat ; 
and, crossing the river, we soon saw the Indian lying 
dead upon the ground. Upon examining the body, we 
found that he had been shot through the heart. He 
was a man of the middle size and stature ; his complex- 
ion was brown, but not very dark, and one side of his 
face was tattooed in spiral lines of a very regular figure. 
He was covered with a fine cloth, of a manufacture alto- 
gether new to us, and it was tied on exactly according 
to the representation in Valentyn's account of Abel Tas- 
man's Voyage.^ His hair also was tied in a knot on the 
top of his head, but had no feather in it. We returned 
immediately to the ship, where we could hear the people 
on shore talking with great earnestness, and in a very 
loud tone, probably about what had happened and what 
should be done. 

In the morning we saw several of the natives where 
they had been seen the night before, and some walking 
with a quick pace towards the place where we had 
landed, most of them unarmed, but three or four with 

1 Vol. iii. pt. 2, p. 50. 



NE W ZEALAND. 1 59 

long pikes in their hands. As I was desirous to estab- 
lish an intercourse with them, I ordered three boats to 
be manned with seamen and marines, and proceeded 
towards the shore, accompanied by Mr. Banks, Dr. So- 
lander, the other gentlemen, and Tupia.-^ About fifty 
of them seemed to wait for our landing, on the opposite 
side of the river, which we thought a sign of fear, and 
seated themselves upon the ground ; at first, therefore, 
myself, with only Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander, and Tupia, 
landed from the little boat and advanced towards them ; 
but we had not proceeded many paces before they all 
started up, and every man produced either a long pike 
or a small weapon of green talc, extremely well polished, 
about a foot long, and thick enough to weigh four or five 
pounds. Tupia called to them in the language of Ota- 
heite, but they answered only by flourishing their weap- 
ons and making signs to us to depart. A musket was 
then fired wide of them and the bail struck the water, 
the river being still between us. They saw the effect, 
and desisted from their threats ; but we thought it pru- 
dent to retreat till the marines could be landed. This 
was soon done ; and they marched, with a jack carried 
before them, to a little bank about fifty yards from the 
waterside. Here they were drawn up, and I again 
advanced, with Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander; Tupia, 
Mr. Green, and Mr. Monkhouse being with us. Tupia 
was again directed to speak to them, and it was with 
great pleasure that we perceived he was perfectly un- 
derstood, he and the natives speaking only different 
dialects of the same language. He told them that we 

1 Tupia was a native of Tahiti, a priest, who had volunteered to accom- 
pany Cook's party, and served as an interpreter. He was accompanied by 
a boy of thirteen years of age, named Tayeto. 



l60 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

wanted provision and water, and would give them iron 
in exchange, the properties of which he explained as 
well as he was able. They were willing to trade, and 
desired that we would come over to them for that pur- 
pose. To this we consented, provided they would lay 
by their arms, which, however, they could by no means 
be persuaded to do. During this conversation Tupia 
warned us to be upon our guard, for that they were 
not our friends. We then pressed them in our turn to 
come over to us, and at last one of them stripped him- 
self and swam over without his arms; he was almost 
immediately followed by two more, and soon after by 
most of the rest, to the number of twenty or thirty ; but 
these brought their arms with them. We made them 
all presents of iron and beads ; but they seemed to set 
little value upon either, particularly the iron, not having 
the least idea of its use, so that we got nothing in re- 
turn but a few feathers. They offered, indeed, to ex- 
change their arms for ours, and, when we refused, made 
many attempts to snatch them out of our hands. As 
soon as they came over, Tupia repeated his declaration 
that they were not our friends, and again warned us to 
be upon our guard ; their attempts to snatch our weap- 
ons, therefore, did not succeed ; and we gave them to 
understand by Tupia that we should be obliged to kill 
them if they offered any farther violence. In a few 
minutes, however, Mr. Green happening to turn about, 
one of them snatched away his hanger, and, retiring to 
a little distance, waved it round his head with a shout 
of exultation. The rest now began to be extremely in- 
solent, and we saw more coming to join them from the 
opposite side of the river. It was becoming necessary 
to repress them, and Mr. Banks fired at the man who 



NEW SOUTH WALES. l6l 

had taken the hanger, with small shot, at the distance 
of about fifteen yards. When the shot struck him, he 
ceased his cry; but, instead of returning the hanger, 
continued to flourish it over his head, at the same time 
slowly retreating to a greater distance. Mr. Monkhouse, 
seeing this, fired at him with a ball, and he instantly 
dropped. Upon this the main body, who had retired to 
a rock in the middle of the river upon the first discharge, 
began to return \ two that were near to the man who had 
been killed ran up to the body ; one seized his weapon 
of green talc, and the other endeavored to secure the 
hanger, which Mr. Monkhouse had but just time to pre- 
vent. As all that had retired to the rock were now ad- 
vancing, three of us discharged our pieces, loaded only 
with small shot, upon which they swam back for the 
shore ; and we perceived, upon their landing, that two 
or three of them were wounded. They retired slowly 
up the country, and we re-embarked in our boats. 

A LANDING IN NEW SOUTH WALES, BOTANY BAY. 

After dinner ^ the boats were manned, and we set out 
from the ship, having Tupia of our party. We intended 
to land where we saw the people, and began to hope that 
as they had so little regarded the ship's coming into the 
bay, they would as little regard our coming on shore : in 
this, however, we were disappointed ; for as soon as we 
approached the rocks, two of the men came down upon 
them to dispute our landing, and the rest ran away. 
Each of the two champions was armed with a lance about 
ten feet long, and a short stick which he seemed to 
handle as if it was a machine to assist him in managing 

' April 28, 1770, 
II 



1 62 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

or throwing the lance. They called to us in a very loud 
tone, and in a harsh dissonant language, of which neither 
we nor Tupia understood a single word ; they bran- 
dished their weapons, and seemed resolved to defend 
their coast to the uttermost, though they were but two, 
and we were forty. I could not but admire their cour- 
age, and being very unwilling that hostilities should 
commence with such inequality of force between us, I 
ordered the boat to lie upon her oars ; we then parleyed 
by signs for about a quarter of an hour, and to bespeak 
their good-will I threw them nails, beads, and other 
trifles, which they took up and seemed to be well pleased 
with. I then made signs that I wanted water, and, by 
all the means that I could devise, endeavored to con- 
vince them that we would do them no harm ; they now 
waved to us, and I was willing to interpret it as an invi- 
tation ; but upon our putting the boat in, they came 
again to oppose us. One appeared to be a youth about 
nineteen or twenty, and the other a man of middle age ; 
as I had now no other resource, I fired a musket be- 
tween them. Upon the report, the youngest dropped a 
bundle of lances upon the rock, but recollecting himself 
in an instant he snatched them up again with great 
haste ; a stone was then thrown at us, upon which I 
ordered a musket to be fired with small shot, which 
struck the eldest upon the legs, and he immediately ran 
to one of the houses, which was distant about an hun- 
dred yards. I now hoped that our contest was over, and 
we immediately landed; but we had scarcely left the 
boat when he returned, and we then perceived that he 
had left the rock only to fetch a shield or target for his 
defence. As soon as he came up, he threw a lance at 
us, and his comrade another ; they fell where we stood 



A VISIT TO THE HUTS. 1 63 

thickest, but happily hurt nobody. A third musket with 
small shot was then fired at them, upon which one of 
them threw another lance, and both immediately ran 
away ; if we had pursued, we might probably have taken 
one of them ; but Mr. Banks suggesting that the lances 
might be poisoned, I thought it not prudent to venture 
into the woods. We repaired immediately to the huts, 
in one of which we found the children, who had hidden 
themselves behind a shield and some bark ; we peeped 
at them, but left them in their retreat, without their 
knowing that they had been discovered, and we threw 
into the house, when we went away, some beads, ribbons, 
pieces of cloth, and other presents, which we hoped 
would procure us the good-will of the inhabitants when 
they should return ; but the lances which we found 
lying about we took away with us, to the number of 
about fifty ; they were from six to fifteen feet long, and 
all of them had four prongs, in the manner of a fish- 
gig, each of which was pointed with fish-bone, and very 
sharp. We observed that they were smeared with a 
viscous substance of a green color, which favored the 
opinion of their being poisoned, though we afterwards 
discovered that it was a mistake ; they appeared, by the 
sea-weed that we found sticking to them, to have been 
used in striking fish. Upon examining the canoes that 
lay upon the beach, we found them to be the worst we 
had ever seen ; they were between twelve and fourteen 
feet long, and made of the bark of a tree in one piece, 
which was drawn together and tied up at each end, the 
middle being kept open by sticks which were placed 
across them from gunwale to gunwale as thwarts. We 
then searched for fresh water, but found none, except in 
a small hole which had been dug in the sand. 



1 64 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

Having re-embarked in our boat, we deposited our 
lances on board the ship, and then went over to the 
north point of the bay, where we had seen several of the 
inhabitants when we were entering it, but which we now 
found totally deserted. Here, however, we found fresh 
water, which trickled down from the top of the rocks, 
and stood in pools among the hollows at the bottom ; 
but it was situated so as not to be procured for our use 
without dif5&culty. 

In the morning, therefore, I sent a party of men to 
that part of the shore where w^e first landed, with orders 
to dig holes in the sand where the water might gather ; 
but going ashore myself with the gentlemen soon after- 
wards, we found, upon a more diligent search, a small 
stream, more than sufficient for our purpose. Upon 
visiting the hut where we had seen the children, we were 
greatly mortified to find that the beads and ribbons 
which we had left there the night before had not been 
removed from their places, and that not an Indian was 
to be seen. 

Having sent some empty water-casks on shore, and 
left a party of men to cut wood, I went myself in the 
pinnace to sound, and examine the bay ; during my ex- 
cursion I saw several of the natives, but they all fled at 
my approach. In one of the places where I landed I 
found several small fires, and fresh mussels broiling 
upon them ; here also I found some of the largest oyster- 
shells I had ever seen. 

As soon as the wooders and waterers came on board 
to dinner, ten or twelve of the natives came down to 
the place, and looked with great attention and curiosity 
at the casks, but did not touch them ; they took away, 
however, the canoes which lay near the landing-place^ 



UNSOCIABLE NATIVES, 1 6$ 

and again disappeared. In the afternoon, when our 
people were again ashore, sixteen or eighteen Indians, 
all armed, came boldly within about an hundred yards 
of them, and then stopped ; two of them advanced some- 
what nearer ; and Mr. Hicks, who commanded the party 
on shore, with another, advanced to meet them, holding 
out presents to them as he approached, and expressing 
kindness and amity by every sign he could think of, but 
all without effect ; for before he could get up with them 
they retired, and it would have answered no purpose to 
pursue. In the evening I went with Mr. Banks and Dr. 
Solander to a sandy cove on the north side of the bay, 
where, in three or four hauls with the seine, we took 
above three hundred weight of fish, which was equally 
divided among the ship's company. 

The next morning, before daybreak, the Indians came 
down to the houses that were abreast of the ship, and 
were heard frequently to shout very loud. As soon as it 
was light, they were seen walking along the beach ; and 
soon after they retired to the woods, where, at the dis- 
tance of about a mile from the shore, they kindled 
several fires. 

Our people went ashore as usual, and with them Mr. 
Banks and Dr. Solander, who, in search of plants, re- 
paired to the woods. Our men, who were employed in 
cutting grass, being the farthest removed from the main 
body of the people, a company of fourteen or fifteen 
Indians advanced towards them, having sticks in their 
hands, which, according to the report of the sergeant of 
the marines, shone like a musket. The grass-cutters, 
upon seeing them approach, drew together, and repaired 
to the main body. The Indians, being encouraged by 
this appearance of a flight, pursued them ; they stopped, 



1 66 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

however, when they were within about a furlong of them, 
and after shouting several times went back into the 
woods. In the evening they came again in the same 
manner, stopped at the same distance, shouted, and re- 
tired. I followed them myself, alone and unarmed, for 
a considerable way along the shore, but I could not 
prevail upon them to stop. 



VII. 

THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE. 

THE girls who came earliest were looking over 
Jules Verne's three magnificent volumes of the 
"General History of Travels and Travellers/' In the 
French edition, this charming book is illustrated by 
very numerous drawings and maps, copied in most in- 
stances from old and rare books. It was with great 
pleasure that the girls found out that M. Verne is as in- 
teresting when he tells true stories as when he invents 
astonishing ones. And a little group established itself 
at the ColoneFs great tables, with each of the volumes, 
while waiting for the rest of the party to arrive. 

Fanchon said that there seemed to be epochs when 
voyages of discovery were in fashion. There would be 
a group of discoveries, and then would come a time 
when nothing would be discovered intentionally. 

Colonel Ingham said it was so ; but he told Fanchon 
that she would generally find that when there are no 
expeditions of discovery, it is because the great nations 
are at war. They are using their ships to destroy each 
other. 

"When peace comes, there are enterprising officers 
to be employed, and a nation where there is any public 
spirit fits out some expedition of discovery." 

Then he said that such a period was the long peace 
of Europe which began with 1815, and lasted, without a 



1 68 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

great war for England, until the Crimean War. This 
period was a generation of mankind in which the Eng- 
lish army and navy had no war of such magnitude as to 
occupy any considerable part of either service. 

Very soon after the peace — under the lead of Sir 
James Barrow, who was a learned geographer — there 
grew up a feeling in England that the passage from 
Hudson's Bay, or Baffin's Bay, to the Pacific might be 
easier than was supposed. The Russian navigators had 
gone inside Behring's Strait. Mackenzie and Hearne 
had found the ocean at the mouth of the Mackenzie 
River and the Coppermine.^ As long ago as Baffin's 
time, in his little vessel, he had shown that his bay 
could be navigated far to the north and west. Whale- 
men frequented it freely in Sir John Barrow's time. 

Under his persuasion the English government sent 
out Ross and Parry in the year 1818 to search for the 
Northwest Passage, while Captain Buchan attempted 
the passage between Spitzbergen and Greenland. 

A passage to India by Baffin's Bay would be a north- 
west passage from England. After nearly thirty years 
poor Sir John Franklin died on his ship, having really 
passed through the Northwest Passage. But all his 
men died on that frozen shore. Before their bodies 
were discovered, Robert McClure and his crew, hav- 
ing sailed from Behring's Strait eastward to Baring's 
Island, passed over the ice to Barrow's Sound, and in 
another vessel returned to England. They are the only 
men, thus far, who have ever gone round America. A 
part of their voyage was on foot on the ice. To them, 
of course, the Northwest Passage was a northeast, east, 
and southeast passage. 

^ " Stories of Adventure," p. 159. 



THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE, l6g 

That series of voyages — including the voyages made 
for the rescue of Sir John Franklin — is a very inter- 
esting series. The literature of it is comprised in many 
hundreds of volumes and pamphlets. 

From some of the earlier of these Uncle Fritz marked 
the following selections, which the children read one 
afternoon. 

But after that, for the whole winter, the boys were 
dipping into the narratives of Ross, Parry, Franklin, 
Back, Rae, Simpson, Dease, McClure, Collinson, Bel- 
cher, and other Englishmen ; and this led them to look 
up Dr. Kane, Dr. Hayes, Budington^s voyage, and those 
of Tyson and other American adventurers who have 
followed in the same direction* 

FROM PARRY'S VOYAGE OF 1819. 

Being favored at length [Aug. 13, 1819] by the east- 
erly breeze which was bringing up the ^'Griper," and for 
which we had long been looking with much impatience, 
a crowd of sail was set to carry us with all rapidity to 
the westward. It is more easy to imagine than to de- 
scribe the almost breathless anxiety which was now visi- 
ble in every countenance, while, as the breeze increased 
to a fresh gale, we ran quickly up the sound. The mast- 
heads were crowded by the officers and men during the 
whole afternoon ; and an unconcerned observer, if any 
could have been unconcerned on such an occasion, 
would have been amused by the eagerness with which 
the various reports from the crow's-nest were received, 
all, however, hitherto favorable to our most sanguine 
hopes. 

Between four and six p. m. we passed several rip- 



I/O STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

plings on the water, as if occasioned by a weather tide, 
but no bottom could be found with the hand leads. 
Being now abreast of Cape Castlereagh, more distant 
land was seen to open out to the westward of it, and be- 
tween the cape and this land was perceived an inlet, to 
which I have given the name of the Navy Board's Inlet. 
We saw points of land apparently all round this inlet, but 
being at a very great distance from it, we were unable to 
determine whether it was continuous or not. But as the 
land on the western side appeared so much lower and 
smoother than that on the opposite side near Cape Cas- 
tlereagh, and came down so near the horizon, about the 
centre of the inlet, the general impression was, that it is 
not continuous in that part. As our business lay to the 
westward, however, and not to the south, the whole of this 
extensive inlet was, in a few hours, lost in distance. ... 

Our course was nearly due west, and the wind, still 
continuing to freshen, took us in a few hours nearly out 
of sight of the " Griper." The only ice which we met 
with consisted of a few large bergs, very much washed 
by the sea ; and, the weather being remarkably clear, so 
as to enable us to run with perfect safety, we were by 
midnight in a great nieasure relieved from our anxiety 
respecting the supposed continuity of land at the bot- 
tom of this magnificent inlet, having reached the longi- 
tude of 2*7,^ 12', where the two shores are still above 
thirteen leagues apart, without the slightest appearance 
of any land to the westward of us for four or five points 
of the compass. The color of the water having become 
rather lighter, we hove to at this time for the " Griper,'* 
and obtained soundings in one hundred and fifty fathoms 
on a muddy bottom. The wind increased so much as to 
make it necessary to close-reef the sails, and to get the 



SLUGGISH COMPASSES. 171 

top-gallant yards down, and there was a breaking sea 
from the eastward. A great number of whales were seen 
in the course of this day's run. . . . 

Since the time we first entered Sir James Lancaster's 
Sound, the sluggishness of the compasses, as well as the 
amount of their irregularity produced by the attraction 
of the ship's iron, had been found very rapidly, though 
uniformly, to increase as we proceeded to the westward ; 
so much, indeed, that for the last two days we had 
been under the necessity of giving up altogether the 
usual observations for determining the variation of the 
needle on board the ships. This irregularity became 
more and more obvious as we now advanced to the 
southward. The rough magnetic bearing of the sun at 
noon, or at midnight, or when on the prime vertical, as 
compared with its true azimuth, was sufficient to render 
this increasing inefficiency of the compass quite ap- 
parent. For example, at noon this day, while we were 
observing the meridian altitude, the bearing of the 
sun was two points on the " Hecla's " larboard bow, 
and consequently her true course was about S.S.W. 
The binnacle and azimuth compasses at the same 
time agreed in showing N. N. W. ^ W., making the 
variation to be allowed on that course eleven points 
and a half westerly, corresponding nearly with an azi- 
muth taken on the following morning, which gave 
137° 12'. It was evident, therefore, that a very ma- 
terial change had taken place in the dip, or the varia- 
tion, or in both these phenomena, since we had last an 
opportunity of obtaining observations upon them ; which 
rendered it not improbable that we were now making a 
very near approach to the magnetic pole. This supposi- 
tion was further strengthened on the morning of the 



1/2 



STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 



yth; when, having decreased our latitude to about 73°, 
we found that no alteration whatever, in the absolute 
course on which the " Hecla " was steering, produced a 
change of more than three or four points in the direc- 
tion indicated by the compass, which continued uni- 
formly from N. N. E., to N. N. W., according as the 
ship's head was placed on one side or the other of the 
magnetic meridian. We now, therefore, witnessed for 
the first time the curious phenomenon of the directive 
power of the needle becoming so weak as to be com- 
pletely overcome by the attraction of the ship ; so that 
the needle might now be properly said to point to the 
north pole of the ship. It was only, however, in those 
compasses in which the lightness of the cards, and great 
delicacy in the suspension, had been particularly at- 
tended to, that even this degree of uniformity prevailed ; 
for in the heavier cards, the friction upon the points of 
suspension was much too great to be overcome even by 
the ship's attraction, and they consequently remained 
indifferently in any position in which they happened to 
be placed. For the purposes of navigation, therefore, 
the compasses were from this time no longer consulted ; 
and in a few days afterward the binnacles were removed, 
as useless lumber, from the deck to the carpenter's store- 
room, where they remained during the rest of the season, 
the azimuth compass alone being kept on deck, for the 
purpose of watching any changes which might take place 
in the directive power of the needle : and the true cowrses 
and direction of the wind were in future noted in the 
log-book, as obtained to the nearest quarter point, when 
the sun was visible, by the azimuth of that object and 
the apparent time. . . . 

With the increasing width of the inlet, we had fiat- 



FITZGERALD BAY, 1 73 

tered ourselves with increasing hopes ; but we soon 
experienced the mortification of disappointment. The 
prospect from the crow's-nest began to assume ^ a very 
unpromising appearance, the whole of the western hori- 
zon, from north round to S. b. E., being completely 
covered with ice, consisting of heavy and extensive floes, 
beyond which no indication of water was visible ; in- 
stead of which there was a bright and dazzling ice-blink 
extending from shore to shore. The western coast of 
the inlet, however, trended much more to the westward 
than before, and no land was visible to the southwest, 
though the horizon was so clear in that quarter, that, if 
any had existed of moderate height, it might have been 
easily seen at this time, at the distance of ten or twelve 
leagues. From these circumstances, the impression 
received at the time was, that the land, both on the 
eastern and western side of this inlet, would be one 
day found to consist of islands. As a fresh northerly 
breeze was drifting the ice rapidly towards Cape Kater, 
and there appeared to be no passage open between it 
and that cape, I did not consider it prudent, under pres- 
ent circumstances, to run the ships down to the point, 
or to attempt to force a passage through the ice, and 
therefore hauled to the wind with the intention of ex- 
amining a bay which was abreast of us, and to which I 
gave the name of Fitzgerald Bay, out of respect for 
Captain Robert Lewis Fitzgerald, of the Royal Navy. 

1 Aug. 8, 1819. 



174 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 



DISCOVERY OF PRINCE REGENT^S INLET. 

This being the anniversary of the birthday of His 
Royal Highness, the Prince Regent, it naturally sug- 
gested to us the propriety of honoring the large inlet, 
which we had been exploring, and in which we still 
were sailing, with the name of Prince Regent's Inlet. 

WORKING WESTWARD. 

August i8. There still being no prospect of getting 
a single mile to the westward, in the neighborhood of 
Prince Leopold's Islands, and a breeze having fresh- 
ened up from the eastward in the afternoon, I deter- 
mined to stand over once more towards the northern 
shore, in order to try what could there be done towards 
effecting our passage ; and at nine p. m., after beating for 
several hours among floes and streams of ice, we got into 
clear water near that coast, where we found some swell 
from the eastward. There was just light enough at mid- 
night to enable us to read and write in the cabin. . . . 

August 21. On the 21st we had nothing to impede 
our progress but the want of wind, the great opening, 
through which we had hitherto proceeded from Baffin's 
Bay, being now so perfectly clear of ice that it was 
almost impossible to believe it to be the same part of 
the sea, which, but a day or two before, had been com- 
pletely covered with floes to the utmost extent of our 
view. In the forenoon, being off a headland, which 
was named after Captain Thomas Hurd, hydrographer 
to the Admiralty, we picked up a small piece of wood 
which appeared to have been the end of a boat's yard, 



BRIDPORT INLET, 1 75 

and which caused sundry amusing speculations among 
our gentlemen, some of whom had just come to the very 
natural conclusion that a ship had been here before us, 
and that, therefore, we were not entitled to the honor of 
the first discovery of that part of the sea on which we 
were now sailing, when a stop was suddenly put to this 
and other ingenious inductions by the information of one 
of the seamen, that he had dropped it out of his boat a 
fortnight before. I could not get him to recollect exactly 
the day on which it had been so dropped, but what he 
stated was sufficient to convince me that we were not 
at that time more than ten or twelve leagues from our 
present situation, perhaps not half so much ; and that, 
therefore, here was no current setting constantly in any 
one direction. A bay, to the northward and westward 
of Cape Hurd, was called Rigby Bay. . . . 

September 4. At noon we observed, in latitude 74° 
54' 49", the longitude, by chronometers, being 108^ 31' 
44", at which time we were off a low, sandy island, 
which was named after Mr. Dealy, and which lies near 
the entrance into a large inlet, to which the name of 
Bridport Inlet was given, from regard to the memory 
of the late Lord Bridport. This inlet runs a considera- 
ble distance to the northward, and seemed to afford 
good shelter for ships ; but, as we had no opportunity 
of examining it in our boats, I am unable to state any 
further particulars respecting it. The land to the west- 
ward of it, of which the most conspicuous part is a 
remarkable bluff headland, is much higher than that 
about Skene Bay; and we ceased to obtain any sound- 
ings with the hand leads after we had passed the en- 
trance of Bridport Inlet. At a quarter past nine p. m. we 
had the satisfaction of crossing the meridian of 110° west 



176 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

of Greenwich, in the latitude of 74° 44' 20'' ; by which his 
Majesty's ships, under my orders, became entitled to the 
sum of five thousand pounds, being the reward offered 
by the king's order in council, grounded on a late act of 
Parliament, to such of his Majesty's subjects as might 
succeed in penetrating thus far to the westward within 
the Arctic Circle. In order to commemorate the success 
which had hitherto attended our exertions, the bluff head- 
land, which we had just passed, was subsequently called 
by the men Bounty Cape ; by which name I have, there- 
fore, distinguished it on the chart. 

As we stood to the westward, we found the extreme 
of the land in that direction to be a low point, which 
was named after Samuel Hearne, the well-known Amer- 
ican traveller, and to the northeastward of which is 
a bay of considerable extent, which was perfectly free 
from ice. We continued our course towards Cape 
Hearne till midnight, when the weather being too dark 
to run any longer with safety, the ships were hove to 
with their heads to the eastward. One black whale was 
seen, in the course of this day's navigation, off Bridport 
Inlet; and some flocks of snow-buntings were flying 
about the ship at night. . . . 

Having stood again to the westward, to take a nearer 
view of the ice, we perceived that it lay quite close in 
with Cape Hearne, notwithstanding the fresh northerly 
wind which for the last thirty-six hours had been blow- 
ing from the shore, and which had drifted the ice some 
distance to the southward, in every other part of the 
coast along which we had lately been sailing. This 
circumstance struck us very forcibly at the time, as an 
extraordinary one ; and it was a general remark among 
us, that the ice must either be aground in shoal water, 



THE MEN ENCOURAGED. 1 77 

or that it butted against something to the southward 
which prevented its moving in that direction. Appear- 
ances being thus discouraging, nothing remained to be 
done but to stand off-and-on near the point, and care- 
fully to watch for any opening that might occur. 

After divine service had been performed, I assembled 
the officers, seamen, and marines of the " Hecla," and 
announced to them officially that their exertions had 
so far been crowned with success as to entitle them to 
the first prize in the scale of rewards granted by his 
Majesty's order in council above mentioned. I took this 
opportunity of impressing upon the minds of the men 
the necessity of the most strenuous exertions during the 
short remainder of the present season ; assuring them 
that, if w^e could penetrate a few degrees farther to the 
westward, before the ships were laid up for the winter, 
I had little doubt of our accomplishing the object of 
our enterprise before the close of the next season. I 
also addressed a letter to Lieutenant Liddon,^ to the 
same effect, and directed a small addition to be made 
to the usual allowance of meat, and some beer to be 
served, as a Sunday's dinner, on this occasion. 

The wind increasing to a fresh gale from the north- 
ward in the afternoon, and the ice still continuing to 
oppose an impenetrable barrier to our further progress, 
I determined to beat up to the northern shore of the 
bay, and, if a tolerable roadstead could be found, to 
drop our anchors till some change should take place. 
This was accordingly done at three p. m., in seven 
fathoms' water, the bottom being excellent holding- 
ground, composed of mud and sand, from which the 
lead could with difficulty be extricated. When we 

1 In the "Griper." 

12 



178 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

veered to half a cable, we had ten fathoms' water under 
the "Hecla's'* stern, our distance from the northern 
shore being about a mile and a half. This roadstead, 
which I called the Bay of the Hecla and Griper, affords 
very secure shelter with the wind from E. N. E., round by 
north, to S. W., and we found it more free from ice than 
any other part of the southern coast of the island. . . • 

MELVILLE ISLANDS. 

September 6. I was beginning once more to indulge 
in those flattering hopes, of which often-repeated disap- 
pointments cannot altogether deprive us, when I per- 
ceived, from the crow's-nest, a compact body of ice 
extending completely in to the shore near the point 
which formed the western extreme. We ran sufficiently 
close to be assured that no passage to the westward 
could at present be effected, the floes being literally 
upon the beach, and not a drop of clear water being 
visible beyond them. I then ordered the ships to be 
made fast to a floe, being in eighty fathoms' water, at 
the distance of four or five miles from the beach. The 
season had now so far advanced as to make it absolutely 
necessary to secure the ships every night from ten till 
two o'clock, the weather being too dark during that 
interval to allow of our keeping under way in such a 
navigation as this, deprived as we were of the use of the 
compasses. But, however anxious the hours of darkness 
must necessarily be under such circumstances, the expe- 
rience of the former voyage had given us every reason 
to believe that the month of September would prove the 
most valuable period of the year for prosecuting our 
discoveries in these regions, on account of the sea being 



CHECKED BY ICE. 1 79 

more dear from ice at this time than at any other. 
Feeling, therefore, as I did, a strong conviction that the 
ultimate accomplishment of our object must depend, in 
a great measure, on the further progress we should 
make this season, I determined to extend our opera- 
tions to the latest possible period. . . . 

The wind increased to a fresh gale from the north- 
ward during the night, and on the morning of the 12th 
flew round to the N. N. W. in a very violent gust. Soon 
after the ice began to drift past us to the eastward, at 
the rate of a mile an hour, and carried away with it the 
berg to which the "Hecla" had been attached on the 
9th and loth ; so that we considered ourselves fortunate 
in having moved to our present berth, which was com- 
paratively a safe one. The "Griper" remained also 
tolerably secure, and well sheltered from the drifting 
ice, which, in the course of the forenoon, had acquired 
a velocity of more than a mile and a half per hour. In 
the afternoon the ice began by degrees to drift from 
the shore to the westward of us, but the wind blowing 
hard from the wrong quarter, it was impossible to think 
of moving the ships. A constant and vigilant lookout 
was also necessary, lest the berg to which our hawsers 
were secured should be forced off the ground, in which 
case we must inevitably have been driven back many 
miles to the eastward, and the labor of the last ten days 
would have been lost in a few hours. The night was cold 
and inclement, with a heavy fall of snow, which being 
blown among the hills caused great drifts in the ravines, 
by which this part of the island is intersected. 

I must now mention an occurrence which had caused 
considerable apprehension in our minds for the two last 
days, and the result of which had nearly proved of very 



l8o STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

serious importance to the future welfare of the expedi- 
tion. Early on the morning of the nth I received a note 
from Lieutenant Liddon, acquainting me that, at daylight 
the preceding day, Mr. Fife, with a party of six men, had 
been despatched from the " Griper," with the hope of sur- 
prising some reindeer and musk-oxen, whose tracks had 
been seen in a ravine to the westward of the ships. . . . 

As they had not yet returned, in compliance with the 
instructions given to Mr. Fife, and had only been sup- 
plied with a small quantity of provisions, it was natural 
to apprehend that they had lost their way in pursuit of 
game, more especially as the night had been too inclem- 
ent for them to have voluntarily exposed themselves to 
it. I therefore recommended to Lieutenant Liddon to 
send a party in search of his people, and Messrs. Reid, 
Beverly, and Wakeham, who immediately volunteered 
their services on the occasion, were accordingly de- 
spatched for this purpose. Soon after their departure, 
however, it began to snow, which rendered the atmos- 
phere so extremely thick, especially on the hills along 
which they had to travel, that this party also lost their 
way in spite of every precaution, but fortunately got 
sight of our rockets after dark, by which they were 
directed to the ships, and returned at ten o'clock, 
almost exhausted with cold and fatigue, without any 
intelligence of the absentees. 

At daylight on the following morning I sent Lieuten- 
ant Hoppner, with the '^Hecla's'^ fore-royal-mast rigged 
as a flag-staff, which he erected on a conspicuous hill 
four or five miles inland, hoisting upon it a large ensign, 
which might be seen at a considerable distance in every 
direction. This expedient occurred to us as a more 
certain mode of directing our absentees towards the 



SEARCH FOR A LOST PARTY, l8l 

ships than that of sending out a number of parties, 
which I could not, in common prudence as well as 
humanity, permit to go to any great distance from the 
ships j but the snow fell so thick, and the drift was so 
great, during the whole of the 12th, that no advantage 
could at that time be expected from it, and another 
night came without the absent party appearing. 

Our apprehensions on their account had by this time 
increased to a most painful degree, and I therefore 
ordered four parties, under the command of careful 
officers, to be prepared to set out in search of them the 
following morning. 

These parties carried with them a number of pikes 
having small flags attached to them, which they were 
directed to plant at regular intervals, and which were 
intended to answer the double purpose of guiding them- 
selves on their return, and of directing the absent party, 
should they meet with them, to the ships. For the 
latter purpose a bottle was fixed to each pike, contain- 
ing the necessary directions for their guidance, and 
acquainting them that provisions would be found at the 
large flag-staff on the hill. Our searching parties left 
the ships soon after daylight, the wind still blowing 
hard from the westward, with increased snow, and the 
thermometer at 28°. This weather continued without 
intermission during the day, and our apprehensions for 
the safety of our people were excited to a most alarm- 
ing degree, when the sun began to descend behind the 
western hills for the third time since they had left the 
ship ; I will not, therefore, attempt to describe the joy- 
ful feelings we suddenly experienced, on the "Griper's '^ 
hoisting the signal appointed to inform us that her 
men, or a part of them, were seen on their return. 



1 82 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

Soon after, we observed seven persons coming along the 
beach from the eastward, who proved to be Mr. Nias 
and his party, with four out of the seven men belonging 
to the "Griper." From the latter, consisting of the 
corporal of marines and three seamen, we learned 
that they had lost their way within a few hours after 
leaving the ship, and had wandered about without any- 
thing to guide them till about ten o'clock on the follow- 
ing day, when they descried the large flag-staff at a 
great distance. At this time the whole party were 
together ; but now, unfortunately separated in conse- 
quence of a difference of opinion respecting the flag- 
staff, which Mr. Fife mistook for a smaller one that had 
been erected some days before at a considerable dis- 
tance to the eastward of our present situation, and, 
with that impression, walked away in a contrary direc- 
tion, accompanied by two of his men. The other four 
who had now returned (of whom two w^ere already 
much debilitated) determined to make for the flag-staff. 
When they had walked some distance, and were enabled 
to ascertain what it was, one of them endeavored to 
overtake Mr. Fife, but was too much fatigued, and 
returned to his comrades. They halted during a part 
of the night, made a sort of hut of stones and turf to 
shelter them from the weather, and kindled a little 
fire with gunpowder and moss to warm their feet ; they 
had never been in actual want of food, having lived 
upon raw grouse, of which they were enabled to obtain 
a quantity sufficient for their subsistence. In the morn- 
ing they once more set forward towards the flag-staff, 
which they reached within three or four hours after 
Lieutenant Beechey had left some provisions on the 
spot ; having eaten some bread, and drank a little rum 



RETURN OF THE LOST PARTY. 1 83 

and water, a mixture which they described as appearing 
to them perfectly tasteless and clammy, they renewed 
their journey towards the ships, and had not proceeded 
far when, notwithstanding the snow which was con- 
stantly falling, they met with footsteps which directed 
them to Mr. Nias and his party, by whom they were 
conducted to the ships. 

The account they gave us of Mr. Fife and his two 
companions led us to believe that we should find them, 
if still living, at a considerable distance to the west- 
ward, and some parties were just about to set out in 
that direction, when the trouble and anxiety which this 
mistake would have occasioned us were prevented by 
the arrival of another of the searching parties, with the 
information that Mr. Fife and the two men were on 
their way to the ships, being about five miles to the 
eastward. Some fresh hands were immediately sent to 
bring them in, and they arrived on board at ten p. m., 
after an absence of ninety-one hours, and having been 
exposed, during three nights, to the inclemency of the 
first wintry weather we had experienced. Almost the 
whole of this party were much exhausted by cold and 
fatigue, and several of them were severely frost-bitten 
in their toes and fingers ; but, by the skill and unre- 
mitted attention of our medical gentlemen, they were in 
a few days enabled to return to their duty. 

Before midnight we had still greater reason than 
ever to be thankful for the opportune recovery of our 
people; for the wind increased to a hard gale about 
half past eleven, at which time the thermometer had 
fallen to 15°; making altogether so inclement a night 
as it would have been impossible for them, in their 
already debilitated state, to have survived. In humble 



1 84 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

gratitude to God for this signal act of mercy, we dis- 
tinguished the headland to the westward of the ships 
by the name of Cape Providence. 

WINTER HARBOR. 

The ships weighed at six a. m., on the 24th [of Sep- 
tember], the wind being still at north, and the weather 
moderate and fine. As soon as the " Hecla " was under 
sail, I went ahead in a boat to sound, and to select an 
anchorage for the ships. In running to the westward 
towards the point of the reef, we had no less than three 
fathoms and three quarters; and, by keeping farther 
off shore, we might have had much deeper water, but 
the wind being scant, it was necessary to keep w^ell to 
the northward. Near the southwestern point of this 
harbor there is a remarkable block of sandstone, some- 
what resembling the roof of a house, on which the 
ships' names were subsequently engraved by Mr. Fisher, 
This stone is very conspicuous in coming from the east- 
ward, and when kept open to the southward of the 
grounded ice at the end of the reef, forms a good lead- 
ing mark for the channel into the harbor. Off the 
end of the reef the water deepened to six fathoms, 
and the " Hecla's '^ anchor was dropped in eight fath- 
oms, half a mile within the reef, and close to the edge 
of the ice through which the canal was to be cut. The 
" Griper " arrived soon after, and by half past eight 
A. M. both ships were secured in the proper position for 
commencing the intended operations. 

As soon as our people had breakfasted I proceeded, 
with a small party of men, to sound, and to mark with 
boarding-pikes upon the ice the most direct channel we 



WINTER HARBOR. 1 85 

could find to the anchorage, having left directions for 
every other officer and man in both ships to be em- 
ployed in cutting the canal. This operation was per- 
formed by first marking out two parallel lines, distant 
from each other a little more than the breadth of the 
larger ship. Along each of these lines a cut was then 
made with an ice-saw, and others again at right angles 
to them, at intervals of from ten to twenty feet ; thus 
dividing the ice into a number of rectangular pieces, 
which it was again necessary to subdivide diagonally in 
order to give room for their being floated out of the 
canal. On returning from the upper part of the har- 
bor, where I had marked out what appeared to be the 
best situation for our winter-quarters, I found that con- 
siderable progress had been made in cutting the canal 
and in floating the pieces out of it. To facilitate the 
latter part of the process, the seamen, who are always 
fond of doing things in their own way, took advantage 
of a fresh northerly breeze, by setting some boats* sails 
upon the pieces of ice, a contrivance which saved both 
time and labor. This part of the operation, however, 
was by far the most troublesome, principally on account 
of the quantity of young ice which formed in the canal, 
and especially about the entrance, where, before sun- 
set, it had become so thick that a passage could no 
longer be found for the detached pieces without con- 
siderable trouble in breaking it. At half past seven 
p. M. we weighed our anchors, and began to warp up 
the canal ; but the northerly wind blew so fresh, and 
the people were so much fatigued, having been almost 
constantly at work for nineteen hours, that it was mid- 
night before we reached the termination of our first 
day's labor. While we were thus employed, about nine 



1 86 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

o'clock a vivid flash of light was observed, exactly like 
lightning. There was at the same time, and during the 
greater part of the night, a permanent brightness in 
the northern quarter of the heavens, which was prob- 
ably occasioned by the Aurora Borealis. I directed 
half a pound of fresh meat per man to be issued, as 
an extra allowance; and this was continued daily till 
the completion of our present undertaking, 

September 26. At half past one p. m. we began to 
track the ships along in the same manner as before, and 
at a quarter past three we reached our winter-quarters 
and hailed the event with three loud and hearty cheers 
from both ships' companies. The ships were in five 
fathoms' water, a cable's length from the beach on 
the northwestern side of the harbor, to which I gave 
the name of Winter Harbor ; and I called the group 
of islands which we had discovered in the Polar Sea, 
New Georgia; but having afterwards recollected that 
this name is already occupied in another part of the 
world, I deemed it expedient to change it to that of 
the North Georgian Islands, in honor of our gracious 
sovereign George III., whose whole reign had been so 
eminently distinguished by the extension and improve- 
ment of geographical and nautical knowledge, and for 
the prosecution of new and important discoveries in 
both. 

It was in the harbor called Winter Harbor, in these 
islands, that Parry and his men spent the winter of 
1819-20. It was here that they published, for their 
amusement, the " North Georgian Gazette," which was 
printed afterwards. Uncle Fritz showed the young 
people a copy of it. This winter was the first in a 




o 

M 
P5 

w 



M 

o 

w 






HOW TO REACH THE NORTH POLE. 187 

series of such experiences, which have been described 
by different northern explorers, in the course of this 
century. 

They had not time then, but to tempt the children to go 
further Uncle Fritz showed them the volumes which con- 
tain Nansen's Reports and Peary's and Sverdrup's of later 
times. The famous effort by Nansen was made in a ship 
built for the purpose, which entered the Arctic Ocean by 
Bering Strait. They permitted themselves to be frozen up, 
and some of them remained in the vessel till the ice-floe 
in which the ship was embedded melted at the east of 
Greenland and Iceland. Meanwhile, in the spring of that 
same year, Nansen with one companion worked nearer 
to the Pole than any one had gone before. On the 
Greenland side Peary has completed the northern outline 
of Greenland. He is proposing in this summer to make 
another attempt to cross the distance, which is not very 
great, to the Pole itself. 

Uncle Fritz himself wrote an imaginary discovery of the 
Pole, which was printed in Harper's Magazine in the year 
1883 under the title of " Colonel Ingham's Journey." ^ 

1 "Susan's Escort and Other Stories.*' — Harper Brothers. 



VIIL 

THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 

THE young people knew that Uncle Fritz would 
lay out some books of African discovery for them, 
and those of them who came out by the Providence 
Railroad were talking about it. 

"What I do not understand," said Bedford Long, "is 
this constant allusion to the sources of the Nile. They 
all went to find the head-waters of the Nile. Why did 
they want to find the head-waters of the Nile more than 
those of any other river ? " 

"It was one of the geographical puzzles," said 
Fergus. 

" I know it was. In the Greek Reader, — in the geo- 
graphical selections, which were easy, — it said that the 
head-waters of the Nile were not known. But what 
troubles me is that they did not know any more about 
the head-waters of the Danube or of the Don; Ister 
and Tanais, were they not ? Why did they not make 
a mystery of them ? " 

The children discussed this question as they walked 
across to Lady Oliver's house, and there referred it to 
Colonel Ingham. 

" I wish I knew," said he, very frankly. " But I had 
better * confess ignorance.' I have thought a good 
deal about it. 



THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 1 89 

"I think, but am not sure, that the quest for the 
fountains of the Nile grew out of the mystery which 
attached to the annual inundation. The regularity of 
this inundation, which comes every year at almost the 
same date as the year before, astonished everybody. 
They thought it must come from some very marvellous 
phenomenon at the head of the Nile. 

*'Then for a long distance, much farther than any 
travellers known to them had gone, the Nile receives 
no considerable branches. It flows majestically north- 
ward, — with this immense volume of water, — not fed 
by any large streams. This gave a certain mystery to 
the river, and you find that mystery alluded to as early 
as in Homer's poems. 

^^By the time of the Latin classics this mystery of 
the fountains of the Nile was recognized as one of the 
unanswered riddles of the world. 

" Now, with regard to your northern rivers j while the 
Greeks were as ignorant, they had no such occasion to 
know, or to inquire. These were just like the little 
rivers which the Greeks knew ; they had branches and 
inundations like theirs. The Nile was, and is, different 
from any other known river in the world. 

"Since Mr. Rhodes took hold of South Africa and 
since the Germans and British have tried to colonize 
different parts of the Continent, the map has become 
quite intelligible." 

'^What is queer, and a little mortifying, now that we 
have discovered, in our own times, the two great lakes 
— the Albert Nyanza and the Victoria Nyanza — which 
feed its chief head-waters, it proves that they were laid 
down quite correctly on old maps of the sixteenth 
century." 



190 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

And Uncle Fritz showed them an old map, probably 
from Portuguese sources, which represented two large 
lakes nearly under the equator. 

" Probably the Portuguese map-makers had the ac- 
count of these from Mussulman traders. They had 
confidence in their authority, and put them down. But 
there was so much guess-work in the maps of Central 
Africa, that the more modern map-makers, in their pride, 
swept all of this work out." 

Mabel quoted — 

" So geographers, in Afric's maps, 
With savage pictures fill their gaps, 
And o'er unhabitable downs 
Place elephants for want of towns." 

The quotation pleased Uncle Fritz. " Yes," he said, 
pointing to the old map, " here are elephants, and here 
are palm-trees ; here is a lion and here a giraffe." Then 
he took a modern map, forty years old. " And here, 
you see, they are all swept away. But the lakes went 
with the elephants. 

"It is not the only piece of truth which the critical 
habit of the last century, and of our century, has swept 
away, from pure crass ignorance. 

" Now, of the solid work in Africa which has gone 
on steadily through this century, and is going on now, 
the foundation was laid by Bruce, whose rather stately 
book of travels I have here. 

" It used to be said that he had found the head-waters 
of the Nile. You will see he did find the head of one 
of its most important branches. 

" The impulse given by his enterprise has never died 
out in England, where they formed a Society of African 
Exploration. Considerations of trade and the interest 



THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, IQI 

in suppressing slavery have quickened this enterprise, 
and the nations of Continental Europe have all contrib- 
uted explorers. Sir Henry Stanley, who crossed the 
Continent in search of Dr. Livingston in the year 1869, 
has lately died. His death has awakened interest in the 
discoveries made in Africa. Some of his own reports 
and letters have been lately reprinted. 

The great interest in Africa which the last half cen- 
tury has shown resulted from the aboHtion of the slave 
trade with distant countries. The last slave-trader from 
the west coast went to sea and was never heard of again. 
This was some fifty years ago. 

With the abolition of that trade, the domestic slave 
trade of Africa, in which the strong man of one tribe 
seizes the weak man of another, came nearly to an end, 
and there is some chance now for the civihzation of all 
Africa. But before we come to later times see what hard 
lines poor Bruce had at the outset. 

BRUCE^S DIFFICULTY AT THE START. 

I found at Bengazi a small French sloop, which had 
come there laden with corn, and was going up the Archi- 
pelago, or towards the Morea, for more. We sailed with 
a fair wind, and in four or five days landed at Canea, at the 
west end of the Island of Crete. Here I was taken dan- 
gerously ill, occasioned by my hardships at Ptolemeta. 

From Canea I sailed for Rhodes, and there found my 
books ; I then proceeded to Castelrosso, on the coast 
of Caramania, which is a part of Asia Minor yet unex- 
plored, and my illness increasing, it was impossible for 
me to execute. 



192 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

Mr. Peyssonel, French Consul at Smyrna, furnished me 
with letters for that part of Asia Minor, and there is no 
doubt but they would have been very efficacious. From 
Castelrosso I continued till I came to Cyprus ; I stayed 
there but half a day, and arrived at Sidon, where I was 
most kindly received by Mr. Clerambant, brother-in-law 
to Mr. Peyssonel, and French Consul at this place. 

While at Canea I wrote by way of France, and again 
while at Rhodes by way of Smyrna, to particular friends 
both in London and France, informing them of my dis- 
astrous situation, and desiring them to furnish me with 
another set of instruments similar to those which I had 
lost. 

The answer received from Paris and London much 
about the same time was, that everybody was employed 
in making instruments for Danish, Swedish, and other 
foreign astronomers; that all those which were com- 
pleted had been bought up. And without waiting a 
considerable indefinite time, nothing could be had that 
could be depended upon. At the same time I was told 
that report said that I was gone with a Russian caravan 
through the Curdistan, where I was to observe the tran- 
sit of Venus in a place where it was not visible, and that 
I was to proceed to China, and return by the way of 
the East Indies, — a story which was industriously cir- 
culated at the time, and which some have affected to 
believe to this day. Finding myself so treated, I had 
almost returned home, had it not been for my desire of 
fulfilling my promise to my sovereign, and of adding the 
ruins of Palmyra to those of Africa, already secured and 
out of danger. 

In my anger I renounced all thoughts of the attempt 
to discover the source of the Nile, and I repeated my 




JAMES BRUCE 



THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, 193 

orders no more for either quadrant, telescope, or time- 
keeper. I had pencils and paper; and luckily my large 
camera obscura, which had escaped the catastrophe of 
Ptolemeta, was arrived from Smyrna, and then standing 
before me. I therefore began to cast about me for the 
means of obtaining feasible and safe methods of re- 
peating the famous journey to Palmyra. I found it was 
necessary to advance nearer the scene of action. Ac- 
cordingly I accepted an invitation from the British Con- 
sul for Tripoli in Syria to take up my residence there. 

" You see," said Uncle Fritz, " that there was a good 
chance that Bruce would settle down in the vocation of 
a Frank doctor in Tripoli. In that case you and I would 
probably never have heard of him. But his chances 
improved, and this book is a book which became very 
famous. It was not published until 1790, but it re- 
counts, as you see, the story of his * Travels to discover 
the Sources of the Nile in the Years 1768-1773.' You 
see it has these curious plates, and maps of the coun- 
tries he visited. There were a good many people who 
thought Bruce's stories were horrible lies. But his 
truthfulness is now established by people who have 
followed him. 

" From the interest which Bruce excited, the African 
Exploration Society grew. Eventually the Geographical 
Society of England was established, in whose yearly 
reports you young folks will find a good deal that you 
will like, because they seem to bring you quite up to 
our time. The Geographical Society in 1857 sent Lieu- 
tenant Burton and Lieutenant Speke, both of whom had 
been in Africa before, in quest of the two great lakes, of 
which the existence was now certain. This he achieved 

13 



194 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

in two expeditions. In the second, with another com- 
panion, Captain Grant, he passed through the very 
heart of the unknown region of Eastern Africa. 

*' Lieutenant Burton, you will see, is mentioned in this 
passage. He is the same man who made the wonderful 
travels in Arabia." ^ 

THE VICTORIA NYANZA. 

After spending nearly three months in laborious re- 
searches, the travellers returned to Kaze, where it was 
determined that Burton, who was ill, should remain in 
town, and Speke should go to verify certain reports as 
to the existence of a great lake farther to the north. 
Speke, with a part of his escort, accordingly set out ; 
and after a march of twenty-five days, over a country 
presenting no serious obstacles, he came to the shores 
of a great lake, called by the natives simply Nyanza, or 
the Water, to which he prefixed the name Victoria, in 
honor of the queen, a useful addition as distinguishing 
this lake from that of Nyassa to the south, a name 
which also means the Water. He did not go farther 
than the southern point, which he found to be in lati- 
tude 2^ 44' south; longitude, 33° east, and 3,552 feet 
above the sea-level, being thus about four hundred and 
fifty miles south of the highest point of the Nile that 
had been reached by Miani. Nothing as to its extent 
northward could be told by the natives, excepting the 
statement that it reached to the end of the world. 
Arab merchants, however, asserted that it was the 
source of some great river; but Speke made up his 
mind to the conclusion that that river was the White 
Nile. In all these countries through which he had 
1 Personal Narration of a Pilgrimage to El Medinah and Meccah, 1855. 



THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 195 

gone, cultivation appeared more general than in others 
he had traversed ; the climate was healthy and generally 
mild, with a heat never exceeding 85° Fahrenheit. 

Thus a great progress had been made in solving the 
problems of the lakes ; but the Snowy Mountains were 
so far still an enigma, till Baron C. von Decken, ac- 
companied by Mr. Thornton, ascended, in 186 1, Kilimi 
Njaro to the height of 13,000 feet, where they were met 
by avalanches. They calculated its elevation to be 
20,000 feet, the upper portions being covered with per- 
petual snow. This mountain is described as being of 
volcanic origin. South of it is a lake called Yib^, thirty 
miles long, two or three broad, and nineteen hundred 
feet above the sea-level. An Alpine region, diversified 
with rising peaks, extends to the north. 

The great object, in so far as concerned the source 
of the Nile, was still unattained, and Speke, having 
found friends in England, set out again from Zanzibar, 
this time accompanied by Captain Grant, a former com- 
panion in arms, by the same route he had travelled in 
1857. A caravan of natives were sent to form a depot at 
Kaze, and the travellers were escorted by sixty armed 
men from Zanzibar, engaged to carry their baggage, with 
a host of porters, bearing beads, calico, and other articles 
for exchange. The journey began under great discour- 
agements ; they were obliged to march on foot, in con- 
sequence of mules and donkeys having been found 
unsuitable ; the country was parched, the tribes were at 
war, there was a threatening of famine, guides and bear- 
ers went off, and when they reached Kaze their progress 
was arrested for want of interpreters and carriers. Hav- 
ing overcome some of these difficulties, the expedition 
was again on its march in October, the new route being 



196 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

at northwest, leading through the kingdom of Ukinza, a 
cultivated country. We next trace them to the kingdom 
of Karagwe, a territory on the western shore of the Ny- 
anza, and occupying the eastern slopes of a mountainous 
region, stretching two hundred miles to the west, and 
five thousand feet above the sea-level. These are again 
said to be part of the Mountains of the Moon. There 
are two rivers in this territory, — one flowing from the 
west into the lake, and the other going to join Lake 
Liita N'Zige to the northwest. Here is a fine climate, 
said to equal that of England, and the whole country 
is refreshed by streams; tall grass grows upon the 
slopes, pease, beans, the sugar-cane, bananas, and to- 
bacco are abundant, and fat cattle pasture in the val- 
leys, — all signs that the negroes here are of a superior 
order, which they were found to be. Having made fa- 
vor with the king, Speke got recommendations to the 
ruler of the neighboring country. They next reached 
Uganda, called the paradise of equatorial Africa, where 
everything grows in luxuriance. The king, who had 
heard of the navigation of the Nile by white men, and 
was anxious for commerce in that direction, received the 
travellers with great kindness, and detained them five 
months almost as prisoners, yet with every attention he 
could bestow. The natives of Uganda are called the 
French of Africa, in consequence of their vivacity, and 
good taste in dress and dwellings. The country exhibits 
the greatest luxuriance, abounding in coffee, the banana, 
and date-palm, and the climate is mild and genial. 

Proceeding to the northwest, the travellers reached 
Unyoro, which stretches to the little Siita N'Zige Lake. 
This, which is the ancient kingdom of Kittara, harbors 
the elephant and rhinoceros amongst its dark forests 



THE SOURCE OF THE NILE, 1 97 

and rank grass. The people differ considerably from 
those of Uganda, being composed of inferior tribes of 
negroes belonging to a peculiar race called the Wahuma, 
and who do not eat flesh meats, but live on the sweet 
potato and grain. Kamrasi, the king, is morose and 
cruel, occupied chiefly in fattening .his wives and chil- 
dren till they can scarcely stand upright, and in acts of 
despotism. For the first time Speke found savages en- 
tirely naked. Beyond Unyoro the dialects of the north 
come in use, — those of the south ceasing, as it were, 
at once. 

An entire year was expended in passing through these 
kingdoms, where white men were now for the first time 
seen. In all of them there was a strong desire to de- 
tain the strangers; nor would they have effected their 
escape perhaps for years, had they not been able to 
deal largely in presents, and still more in promises to 
introduce commerce between the kings and the Queen 
of England. Turning to the north side of the lake, 
where the great secret was concealed, we find that some 
rivers flow into the lake and some out of it. Of the 
former, there are the Mworango and the Luyere. East of 
these, at about the middle of the north line of the lake, 
flows the main branch of the White Nile, leaving Na- 
poleon Channel, with a breadth of one hundred and 
fifty yards, by certain runs called the Ripon Falls, over 
rocks supposed to be of igneous origin, twelve feet in 
height. This northern shore runs east and west, and 
is about twenty miles to the north of the equator. The 
extent of the lake is supposed to be about one hundred 
and fifty miles either way ; the water is sweet, and of 
no great depth. The surface is 3,553 feet above the 
sea-level. It is covered with whole fleets of canoes, 



198 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

belonging to the different nations on its shores ; and yet, 
with this simple mode of communication with each other, 
the peoples have no other intercourse, if they are not 
almost entirely unknown to each other. Lake Baringa, 
which we have already noticed as being known to the 
missionaries, lies at the northeast verge of Nyanza, de- 
scribed by the natives as a long, narrow basin, and sup- 
posed to be connected in some way with the greater lake. 
There is less doubt that the Baringa gives issue to the 
Asna, a river which falls into the White Nile on the east, 
about eighty miles from Gondokoro on the north. Little 
is yet known of the inhabitants of the region between 
the Asna and the Nile except their names, — the Usoga, 
Uvuma, Ukori, and Avama. 

It is interesting to note the manner in which Speke 
made his discovery. Arriving at the Murchison Firth, 
he went northward some fifty miles to a town called 
Kari ; there he crossed the Luyere River already men- 
tioned, and finding his way to the White Nile, he fol- 
lowed it till he came to the point of debouchure at the 
Ripon Falls. Returning to Kari, he rejoined the expe- 
dition and followed the downward course of the main 
stream to the Karuma Falls, where the river makes a 
bend to join the little Liita N'Zige Lake on the west. 
This junction is made at the north end of the lake. 
With its southern end resting on the equator, it extends, 
like a narrow reservoir, one hundred and fifty miles 
in a northern direction, having within it, towards the 
northern end, an island containing deposits of salt. It 
is about 2,200 feet above the sea, with a fall of surface- 
level to the extent of 1,353 feet in the space of one 
hundred and twenty miles which intervene between it 
and the Nyanza. The supposition is (for it is not yet 



THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 1 99 

properly ascertained) that the Nile, after passing through 
the northwestern extremity of the lake, returns again 
to the east, where it is met by the Asna. From the 
Karuma Falls it rushes towards the west, — all at this 
point that the travellers could ascertain, in consequence 
of being prohibited by the wars then raging about the 
lake from going in that direction. 

Passing from these falls into the Ukidi country, the 
travellers again met the river, in the Madi kingdom, 
near the junction of the Asna, in latitude 5° 35' north. 
They had no doubt of its being the same Nile which 
they parted with at the Karuma Falls, though the rea- 
son assigned for this certainty — the occurrence of **the 
long flats and long rapids," for which the river is dis- 
tinguished — does not of itself seem very convincing. 
Continuing their journey, they came to De Bono's Sta- 
tion, in latitude 3° north, where they met a great many 
Turks, traders in ivory, the only occupants of the place. 
Some days afterwards they set out, accompanied by 
the traders, for Gondokoro, where they arrived on the 
15th of February. The latitude was ascertained to be 
4° 54' 5'' north; longitude 31° 46' 9'' east, a determination 
which will regulate the itineraries of travellers from a 
point so central. Here they met, to their great joy, 
their friend Mr. S. W. Baker, well known for his bold 
adventures in those parts of Africa, and who had come 
up the Nile to meet them. This gentleman, on learning 
that a part of the White River had been left unexplored, 
determined with prompt decision to set out for the Lake 
Liita N'Zige ; but it has since been learned that after 
organizing a party of Khartum men, and paying them 
in advance, they mutinied and deserted him, leaving 
him to prosecute an adventure to the upper streams 



200 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

of the Sobat. Another peculiar incident connected with 
this part of the main expedition was the appearance of 
the ladies Tinne and Madame van Capellan, sisters, 
with the daughter of the former, who, having a swift 
steamer on the Nile, came up to succor the travellers, 
and afterwards, accompanied by M. de Heuglin and Dr. 
Steudner, intended to steer westward, by Lake No and 
the Bahr-el-Gazal, the first and only great affluent of the 
Nile which joins it on the west bank. This river meets 
the main stream in the parallel of 9° north, having at 
first the appearance of a small marshy lake, round the 
entrance of which the Nile winds with considerable 
velocity. The second tributary is the Giraffe, which 
joins the Nile on the right, or east, falling with a swirl 
into the main stream, with a volume of water equal to a 
third of that of the Nile. The source of the Giraffe is 
quite unknown. The third on the same side is the 
South Sobat, a full stream, but not so rapid as the Gi- 
raffe. The North Sobat was passed unobserved. The 
fourth is the Blue River, which joins the Nile at Khar- 
tum, in latitude 15° 30' north. As to this last river, 
Speke describes it as the Blue Nile, a mountain stream 
rising in the country beyond the rainy zone, and sub- 
ject to the influence of tropical rains and droughts. 
The suspicion so long entertained that it was the true 
Nile was, in his opinion, absurd ; for all the waters it is 
able to send would be absorbed long before it reached 
the sea. The fifth and last tributary of the Nile is the 
Atbara, a river very like the Blue River, only smaller. 
Beyond this the Nile flows on through Nubia and Egypt 
wdthout a single tributary, a distance of one thousand 
miles, to the Mediterranean, which it enters by the 
Damietta and Rosetta mouths, the only two remaining 



THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 20I 

of the seven terminal outlets by which it escaped from 
the delta. 

Among the most useful results of these journeys are 
the facts recorded in the tables of temperature. We 
have hitherto been led to suppose that equatorial Africa 
was subjected to great heat, suited to the nature of its 
inhabitants, and so unfavorable to the health of the 
European as to forbid the hope of successful coloniza- 
tion. Yet in Karagw^, only i° south of the equator, 
the temperature during five months was on one occa- 
sion only so high as 85° of Fahrenheit. At nine in the 
morning it ranged from 60° to 71°; and the nights were 
invariably cool. At Uganda, 1,700 feet lower, the tem- 
perature is only a little higher. At Unyoro it is hotter, 
the maximum being 86° and the minimum 61° to 72°. 
The mean temperature for the whole year is 68° ; maxi- 
mum, 82°; minimum, 51°; the extreme range, 49°. 
Compare these with the mean of Funchal, in Madeira, 
Bermuda, Gibraltar, and Cape Town, showing 67° and 
68°, while the maximum above given corresponds with 
the summer temperature of New Orleans and Canton, 
and the minimum, 51°, is nearly the same as that of 
London and Vienna. These equatorial figures are 
doubtless due to the elevation of the table-land. There 
is nothing remarkable in the rainfall, or the direction 
or intensity of the winds. But notwithstanding all these 
facts, it is too clear that equatorial Africa, however it 
may be benefited by Christianity, must still be held as 
set apart for itself, — the people peculiar to it, its wild 
animals, and plagues. 



IX. 

THE MOUTH OF THE NIGER. 

THE young people were still studying African travels, 
looking out Mr. Pinto's route, and this set them to 
looking at Uncle Fritz's map of Africa, which is pinned 
for convenience on the closet-door. They found a good 
deal there which was not in their school-maps. 

They found that a very spirited set of Frenchmen were 
trying different plans about the Desert of Sahara. One 
set of people, theorists perhaps, make a great lake of it, a 
sort of younger sister of the Mediterranean Sea. It is 
thought that by doing this the hot Sahara winds may be 
cooled down and the climate of southern Europe im- 
proved. A very spirited French officer did his best to 
make an order, half military and half ecclesiastical, which 
should go into the oases of the Desert of Sahara and into 
the large towns to the south of it for the civilization of 
those people. 

Mr. Cecil Rhodes, a successful and energetic man of 
affairs who had made a fortune in South Africa, deter- 
mined on a railway from Cairo to the Cape, as he and his 
friends called it. This railway is now nearly finished. It 
waits only the union by a great bridge or "viaduct" 
between the northern line and the southern. There is 
already trans-African communication direct from Cape 
Town to Europe. The unfortunate and unnecessary war 
between England and the brave Dutch people who had 
till our time South Africa in their power, has set back 
such enterprises, but they are beginning with new courage 
now. On the west coast of Africa the so-called State of 



UNEXPLORED REGIONS, 203 

Congo has been created. The different European 
powers and the United States hold a sort of Protectorate 
under which the King of Belgium takes the oversight of 
the colonists there. 

Mr. Shepherd, a young black man who was trained at 
the Hampton Institute, has estabhshed himself quite in 
the heart of '^ unexplored regions " and sometimes we 
get a report of the first interest from him. 

The little American colony of Monrovia has acquired a 
wide influence among the tribes of blacks northward and 
eastward. They speak English there, they educate their 
children well there, and now and then our young people 
have a chance to hear of those countries from persons who 
are not ashamed that they are black themselves and see 
the great possibilities before the native tribes of Africa. 
Mrs. Jane Sharp, who for many years had the oversight 
of the education of girls in Africa, has lately made a 
visit in America. 

Uncle Fritz said that in his day there used to be a 
bright novel in which the scene was laid in the " Unex- 
plored Regions." He said he had a very sensible friend, 
who always read her novels even, with a map, and she 
insisted on reading " Kaloolah " with the Useful Knowl- 
edge Maps of Africa. 

" Is it true," asked Will, " that the Portuguese traders 
knew more of Central Africa three hundred years ago 
than we know now?" 

It is quite true that the old maps, in the splendid old 
atlases of the sixteenth century, fill in many parts of Africa 
which our critical and sceptical geographers leave bare. 
Aaid it has proved, as the young people saw in read- 
ing Speke's and Grant's discoveries, that the great lakes 
near the equator in Eastern Africa were both really 



204 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

intelligently laid down on the old maps. This has cer- 
tainly given more credit to them. But they do not 
agree very well with each other, and it is quite sure 
that the traders, from whose reports they were made, 
had no accurate instruments for observation of latitude 
and longitude. 

"When I studied geography," said Uncle Fritz, "the 
two great mysteries acknowledged in the book were the 
' head- waters of the Nile ' and the ' mouth of the Niger.' 
The scholars were given to understand that the man who 
made the book knew everything else, in heaven above and 
in the earth beneath. 

" The source of the Nile had been an old marvel, as 
you all know. Then diiferent traders and travellers had 
found this great river Niger or Joliba in the heart of 
Africa, and they did not know where it went to. 

" As one river had not a source and the other had not 
a mouth, I favored, for convenience, a theory which some 
people had, — that the Niger became the Nile." 

"Just as I look in the Transcript, among ^Lost and 
Found,* and try to match the advertisements," said 
Sybil. 

"Yes," said Clem. Waters, "she wanted to make me 
believe that a man who had lost a trained pointer would 
be satisfied with a Skye terrier which had been found at 
South Boston with a blue ribbon round his neck." 

"I suppose she was disappointed," said Uncle Fritz. 
" Well, that was just what happened to me. The Niger 
chose to run west and south. Here it is on Col. Adan^s 
map. It flows into what the sailors call ^the Bight of 
Benin.' 



HUGH CLAPPER TON. 205 

"What with the eagerness to know, which men and 
women will always have, because, when they choose, they 
are partakers of the divine nature, and what with the 
desire to find new regions for trade, there have been, for a 
hundred years and more, constant explorations in Africa 
to work out the answers to these questions.'* 

" I had a good deal rather work them out than work 
out an answer in the Binomial Theorem," said Bob Ed- 
meston bravely. 

Uncle Fritz laughed. " I remember another boy who 
thought so. He was in a store in Charleston. When he 
went home to his dinner he used to walk up on the sunny 
side of the street at noon in summer, so as to accustom 
himself to the heat of an African sun when he should be 
commissioned to explore the interior of Africa.'* 

Bob looked his admiration. "That was brave," said 
he. " What became of him ? " 

"When I last heard of him," said Uncle Fritz, "he was 
a clerk in the Mint in San Francisco. Whether he walks 
up the sunny side of the street, I do not know." 

" Well, who finally found the course of the Niger, and 
why was it so hard to find? " 

" An English officer named Hugh Clapperton virtually 
found it. But it was Lander, who had gone out with him 
as his personal servant, who made it sure. I looked 
through Clapperton's last book the other day, — it is his 
journal as Lander published it for him, — and I have 
marked it for you just as I did Humboldt and Hearne." 

So the children settled down, with the thermometer out- 
doors at five degrees, and the wind stiff from the north- 
west, to read of tropical Africa. 



206 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 



THE KING OF YOURIBA.i 

yanuary 24, 1825. Early this morning the king paid 
us a visit, accompanied by his favorite officer and Abaco, 
the messenger. We had received previous information 
that he wished to have the presents intended for him this 
night ; and such is the crooked policy of these petty sover- 
eigns of Africa that no present can be given, no business 
or transaction of importance can be done openly: all 
must be conducted under the cover of night, and with the 
greatest secrecy, from the highest to the lowest. We first 
began inquiring after his health. I then told him that 
I was the King of England's servant, sent by His Majesty 
to beg his acceptance of a present, which there lay before 
me ; that we had heard his (the King of Youriba's) name 
mentioned in England as a great king ; that we now ex- 
perienced the truth of the report ; that three white men, 
two of them my companions and one a servant, had died 
on the road ; that another of my companions was at 
Dahomey, to ask the king of that country to allow him a 
passage through his dominions. 

I told him that all the Youriba people had behaved well 
to us ; that the caboceers of the different towns through 
which we had passed supplied us with everything we 
wanted, especially the chief of Jannah, his friend, who had 
shown the greatest attention to us, and had given us a 
good man for a messenger, who had conducted us with 
safety and attention to His Majesty's capital. Upon this 
the messenger was ordered to make his prostrations, and 
His Majesty rubbed his shoulders with his hand. I then 
told him that the King of England would be glad to make 

1 Youriba is the Jarriba of some maps. 




THE MEETING OF CAPTAIN CLAPPERTON WITH THE 
KING OF YOURIBA 



KING OF YOURIBA, 20/ 

him his friend, and that whatever he, the King of Youriba, 
might have occasion for, would be sent from England by 
one of the king's ships to Badagry. The king then repUed 
in assuring us that we were truly welcome to his country ; 
that he had frequently heard of white men, but that neither 
himself nor his father nor any of his ancestors had ever 
seen one. He was glad that white men had come at this 
time ; and now he trusted his country would be put right, 
his enemies brought to submission, and he would be enabled 
to build up his father's house, which war had destroyed. 
This he spoke in such a feeling and energetic manner, and 
repeated it so many times, that I could not help sympa- 
thizing with him. 

He then said we were welcome to his country, and he 
was glad to see us, and would have been so even if we 
had not a cowrie, instead of coming with our hands full, 
as we had done ; that he wanted nothing from white men 
but something to assist him against his enemies and those 
of his people who had rebelled against him, so as to en- 
able him to reduce them to obedience; that his slaves 
from Houssa had joined the Fellatahs, put to death the 
old, sold the young ; that he was glad to hear that all his 
people had behaved well to us ; that had any of them re- 
fused us assistance, he should have sent an order to cut 
off their heads ; that the caboceer of Jannah was his slave, 
whom he put there to look after that part of his domin- 
ions ; that Badagry, Alladah, and Dahomey all belonged 
to him, and paid custom for every ship that anchored 
there ; and he concluded by assuring us that he wanted 
nothing but assistance against his enemies, feelingly de- 
ploring the civil war occasioned by his father's death, 
the state of his country, and of his capital, Katunga. He 
then asked us if we did not see the ruined towns as we 



208 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

came along the road. "All these," said he, "were de- 
stroyed and burned by my rebellious Houssa slaves and 
their friends the Fellatahs.'* . . . 

We now began to unfold and to deliver the presents. 
With the umbrellas and gold-mounted cane he was much 
pleased ; but for the red and blue cloth, which, by some 
mistake, was common cloth for soldiers' coats, we had to 
make an apology. With all the others he was highly 
pleased. Indeed, during our stay at Katunga, he was 
never seen without the cane. 

After the delivery of the presents, I told him that the 
king, my master, had sent me before on a mission to 
Bornou, in which country and Houssa I had passed two 
years ; that the sultans and people of these countries had 
behaved to me with the greatest kindness ; and that, hav- 
ing then understood that the path we were now going was 
the nearest way to Bornou, the King of England had 
ordered me, as I proceeded, to visit the King of Youriba, 
and to assure him of his friendship, and to request him to 
give me a safe conduct to Nyffee, from whence I might 
proceed to Bornou. He seemed to hesitate much at this 
request, and consulted with his minister what answer to 
give. After which he said that Nyffee, or Toppa, was 
involved in civil war, caused by the death of the king, 
who had left two sons, both of whom claimed the king- 
dom ; that one son had more of his countrymen on his 
side, but the other had called in the assistance of the Fel- 
latahs, or Fellens, which made him doubt as to my safety 
in the event of my putting myself into their hands. I 
told him I was a servant of the King of England, and must 
go where he chose to order me, and that, live or die, I 
must proceed ; that I had nothing to do with either party 
or with their wars ; that all I wanted was a passage over 



YOURIBAN CUSTOMS. 209 

the Quorra into Nyffee, and hoped he would not refuse 
me. After some further consultation with his counsellors, 
he said he would despatch a messenger to open the road 
for me, and that he would send me safely over the 
river. 

Wednesday, 2^tk. Early this morning the king sent me 
a present of a large fat cow, a sheep, yams, etc. He had 
before sent us a goat, yams, honey, and milk night and 
morning. The atmosphere here is so dry that most of the 
instruments are breaking and splitting. My only hygrom- 
eter was broken at Badagry. The late Dr. Morrison's 
barometers were fitted with ivory screws at the bottom of 
the tube ; they are all split and rendered useless by the 
heat. The microscope is all in pieces, as also several 
other instruments. 

In the evening we had a visit from the king to thank me 
for the presents I had given him, and again to assure me 
of being welcome ; said that he wanted nothing, unless it 
was something that would speedily cause the submission 
of the rebels. He said that he had sent to his friend, the 
King of Benin, for troops to assist him in the war. He 
added that the customary fetes or amusements would 
begin in about two months, and he would be very glad if 
I would stay to see them ; that he dressed now as a 
common man, but after that I should see him robed as 
a king. I told him I must go on early to get to Bornou 
before the rains. Mr. Houston took this opportunity of 
observing to him that he had been at the customs in Da- 
homey, and inquired if the King of Youriba put to death 
such a number of people at his customs as those of 
Dahomey. He shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, 
and exclaimed, " No, no ! No King of Youriba could 
sacrifice human beings," and that if he so commanded, 

14 



2IO STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

the King of Dahomey must also desist from that practice ; 
that he must obey him. 

Thursday y 26th. ... In the evening I set off five 
rockets, which astonished all and frightened away many. 
The king was sitting under his verandah, and we waited 
on him to inquire how he Uked the rockets ; he was quite 
delighted, and said they should be kept for war. 

27///. Employed in reducing the packages and writing. 
In the afternoon the king paid us a visit, when we showed 
him some presents intended for the three principal cabo- 
ceers of the city. He said he did not know what to do 
or say for our great kindness, as we had given him more 
things than he would have got for the sale of one hundred 
slaves, and now we were giving more to his caboceers ; 
that, however, what he could do he would. He said he 
had sent messengers in different directions to try to find a 
safe path to the place where I wished to go ; that while 
we were in his dominions we were perfectly safe, but on 
leaving them he was sorry to think we might be exposed 
to danger from the disturbed state of the countries through 
which I must travel. He then said that the Jappa, or 
Nyffee, messengers, who had been here three years, were 
in waiting to give us every information regarding the river 
that I might wish to ask them. They were accordingly 
called in, and were certainly the most savage-looking 
knaves I ever saw ; but they either could not or were 
afraid to give even the least account of the river Quorra, 
and I therefore sent them off after asking a few questions. 
Indeed, there seems a great unwillingness in both the 
king and the people of this place to say anything at all 
about the subject, for what reason I cannot yet con- 
jecture. 

31^-/.... The king called to see me this evenmg, 



DEL A YS. 211 

but I was asleep ; he insisted, however, that Mr. Houston 
should allow him to look at me with his own eyes, and, 
taking the candle, he did so, and observed that, having 
looked on me, I should be quite well in the morning. 
Mr. Houston asked him for the loan of a horse to take an 
airing in the morning. This His Majesty could not com- 
prehend : why could a man want to ride or walk for 
nothing? If he rode or walked, he ought to go and see 
one of the caboceers, and he would get a present of a 
sheep, or a pig, or some yams; that would be doing 
good. So he said he would send a horse in the morning, 
and he mtist go and see some of his caboceers, and he 
would send to let them know he was coming. The pain 
in my head has fallen into my left eye, with inflammation 
and acute pain, accompanied with a light delirium. 

Sunday^ ^th. , . . In the afternoon had a visit from 
His Majesty. I asked him if the Nyffee messenger had 
arrived. He said no ; that he must be dead, sick, or 
taken prisoner. He said we could not go by the road of 
Nyffee, which was impassable from the wars : what was 
my hurry to go ? He was not yet tired of me ; he had 
many caboceers coming from the country to see me ; he 
wished to put everything right on the roads for me before 
I set off; that the King of England did not send me to 
him to run away again directly ; that he wished me to 
wait and see the customs, for then I should see him truly 
a king. I said I would do so with pleasure, but that the 
rains would have set in by that time, and I should be 
unable to go to Bornou. He asked what I was going to 
Bornou for. " Did not the King of England send you to 
me alone? " " No," said I. " He sent to you to pro- 
cure a passage to that country, where an Englishman now 
resides who was left there when I returned from thence.*' 



212 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

I then told him I would consent to remain twelve days 
longer, and if he did not by that time find me a passage I 
would return to England and say he would not allow me to 
proceed. He now informed me that the messenger who 
arrived yesterday was from one of his provinces called 
Zouri, five days' distance ; that it was divided from the 
Zouri by the Quorra; that he would send me by that 
route, which was quite safe. I asked if I could not go 
and see the Quorra before I departed from Katunga. He 
said, No : the Fellatahs had possession of the road. He 
gave me his gooro-nut box, carved in the shape of a tor- 
toise in ebony. I promised to let him have thirty mus- 
kets, with powder and ball; on which he went away 
dancing, tripped and fell, but was soon picked up by his 
ladies. He always brings us some little present when he 
comes, and to-day he brought us a bottle of honey and a 
fruit called agra, about the size of a pear, with a hard 
outer skin, four large black seeds, surrounded by a pleas- 
ant acid pulp, like tamarinds, of a cream color. 

My servant, Pascoe, met in the market to-day some 
Fellatahs, who told him there was no war in Nyffee ; that 
the king was only afraid of the Fellatahs ; that the Fella- 
tahs of Raka had taken nine Zourrebanis, who had been 
found in a suspicious place, but were going to return them 
here on the morrow. 

^th. In the middle of the day the king visited me, and 
brought a bottle of honey and two cock fowls. He be- 
gan joking me as to what I was about to give him. I said 
I had nothing to give him. Says he : "I ask you to give 
me one of your servants.*' ''I can't do that," says I. 
"They are all free men as well as myself." "What!" 
says he. ** No slaves in England ? " " No," says I. '* As 
soon as a slave sets his feet in England he is free." 



ANOTHER AUDIENCE. 213 

*^ Then," says he, " as you must go, either Mr. Houston 
or Richard must stop with me : I must have one." After 
a good deal of conversation of this kind, I asked him to 
fix a day for our departure. He artfully shifted the sub- 
ject of conversation to that of women. Would I not like 
a wife ? He would give me one. Did he not give us 
plenty to eat, or did he not use me well ? " All very true 
and very good," says I ; " but I am not like a black man, 
who has no book to write. I must know the day on 
which I am to go, as I must have all my books ready for 
the King of England. Everything I give away is in that 
book, everything I get, and everything I say." All my 
talk would not make him fix a day, but he said I should 
have a servant of his to the King of Zouri ; that that road 
was safe. I could go in four days to Zara in Bamba, 
which was tributary to him. There I could cross the river 
Moussa, which ran into the Quorra, three days' distance ; 
that the Moussa came from the northwest, and in it were 
plenty of hippopotami. He is still particularly shy of 
giving any information about the Quorra, of which, per- 
haps, he has none. At one time he says it runs into the 
sea between Jabno and Benin, and at another that it 
passes Benin. 

He now shifted the subject of conversation \ told me 
he did not know how many wives or how many children 
he had got, but he was sure that his wives alone, hand to 
hand, would reach from hence to Jannah. . . . The king 
had his skin rubbed over with the powder of a species of 
red- wood, ground very fine, and made like a paste ; it is 
used by all classes. . . . 

We found the king seated in an old easy-chair covered 
with crimson damask, the caboceers at some distance 
in front, facing him, dressed in leopard-skin robes, their 



214 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

heads well dusted, and also their cheeks, by rubbing their 
faces in the dust while making their prostrations. It is 
the court etiquette here to appear in a loose cloth tied 
under one arm, passed over the other shoulder and hang- 
ing down to the feet in a graceful manner ; but no tobes, 
no beads, no coral, or grandeur of any kind, must appear 
but on the king alone. The cane I made him a present 
of holds, on all occasions, a conspicuous place ; when he 
walks he carries it, and when he sits it is stuck in the 
ground some distance before him. He presented us with 
gooro nuts, and asked me to fire off some rockets 
to-night. 

13//^. This morning our friend and guardian, the fat 
officer, was drunk ; when in that state he begs everything 
he sees. He got Mr. Houston and myself into the house 
to see him dance, but independently of his want of stead- 
iness he was the most clumsy and unwieldy performer I 
ever saw. He begged we would also dine with him, but 
I complained of illness, and Houston ran off. He fol- 
lowed and made Mr. Houston hand out the flask, which, 
without waiting for a glass, he put to his mouth, and drank 
upwards of a pint of raw rum without drawing his breath. 
He said that rum was good and made him fat. . . . 

When a king of Youriba dies, the caboceer of Jannah, 
three other head caboceers, four women, and a great many 
favorite slaves and others, are obliged to swallow poison 
given by fetishmen in a parrot's ^gg ; should this not take 
effect, the person is provided with a rope to hang himself 
in his own house. No public sacrifices are used, at least 
no human sacrifices, and no one was allowed to die at the 
death of the last king, as he did not die a natural death, 
having been murdered by one of his own sons, — not the 
present king. . . . 



MORE DELAYS, 215 

There is a pleasant walk through a large enclosed park 
at the foot of the hills, between the house of the king and 
that of his wives, enclosed by a clay wall. Some parts of 
the park are planted with corn, yams, etc., and others 
studded with beautiful shady trees. The king was sitting 
under the shade of one of the trees. I observed to him 
that I had been here twenty-four days, and was anxious to 
go on my journey, as the rains were about to set in. He 
asked if all the white men were going. I said " Only myself 
and my servants.*' As I knew him to be skilful in evasive 
answers, and always to have one ready at hand, I said 
'' Fix a day.'' His reply was, " Every one would say the 
white men came to see the King of Youriba, and brought 
him large presents, and requested him to give them a 
good passage to where they wanted to go* He gave them 
a bad path ; they were robbed and killed. All good people 
would say that the King of Youriba did not do good to 
white men." He had been busy with his people these 
last four days, but he had sent a messenger to get a good 
path. I asked him positively to fix a day, as I could not 
be put off any longer. After consulting with his people 
he said, " Nine days." I said, " Well, I shall remain nine 
days," without saying one word that I had everything 
ready to go. . . . 

I thought this a proper time to hint a gentle complaint 
against our fat guardian for having for some time appro- 
priated our provisions to his own use. The old rogue 
swore through thick and thin that he had given us every- 
thing, even some goats which I had actually purchased at 
market, but which he declared he had supplied himself, 
I told the king it was of no use talking against a rogue 
like his eunuch, therefore I should hold my tongue. 



2l6 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 



A PANTOMIME. 

It is the custom during the time that the caboceers 
from the different towns remain on their visit to the king 
to act plays or pantomimes, or whatever they might be 
called. I shall attempt a description of the one I saw to- 
day. The place chosen for this pastime is the king's park, 
fronting the principal door where His Majesty usually sits. 
A fetish house occupies the left side ; to the south are two 
very romantic and large blocks of granite, by the side of 
which is an old withered tree; on the east are some 
beautiful shady trees, and on the north His Majesty's house, 
from whence he views the scene ; in the centre are two 
beautiful clumps of trees, in one of which is a tall fan-palm, 
overlooking the whole area, — a space that may include 
some seven or eight hundred yards square. Under these 
clumps of trees were seated the actors, dressed in large 
sacks, covering every part of the body ; the head most fan- 
tastically decorated with strips of rags, damask, silk, and 
cotton, of as many glaring colors as it was possible. The 
king's servants attended to keep the peace and to prevent 
the crowd from breaking into the square in which the 
actors were assembled. Musicians, also, attended with 
drums, horns, and whistles, which were beaten and blown 
without intermission. The first act consisted in dancing 
and tumbling in sacks, which they performed to admira- 
tion, considering they could not see, and had not the free 
use of their feet and hands. The second act consisted in 
Catching the Boa- Constrictor. First one of the sack-men 
came in front and knelt down on his hands and feet ; then 
came out a tall, majestic figure, having on a head-dress 
and mask which baffle all description ; it was of a glossy 
black color, sometimes like a lion couchant over the crest 



BOA-CONSTRICTOR. 21/ 

of a helmet ; at another like a black head with a large 
wig; at every turn he made it changed its appearance. 
This figure held in its right hand a sword, and by its 
superior dress and motions appeared to be the director of 
the scene ; for not a word was spoken by the actors. The 
manager, as I shall call him, then came up to the man 
who was lying in the sack; another sack-dancer was 
brought in in his sack, who, by a wave of the sword, was 
laid down at the other's head or feet ; he having ripped 
the ends of both sacks, the two crawled into one. There 
was now great waving of the manager's sword ; indeed, I 
thought that heads were going to be taken off, as all the 
actors were assembled round the party lying down, but in 
a few minutes they all cleared away except the manager, 
who gave two or three flourishes with his sword, when the 
representation of the boa-constrictor began. The animal 
put its head out of the bag in which it was contained, 
attempting to bite the manager, but at a wave of the 
sword it threw its head in another direction to avert the 
blow ; it then began gradually to creep out of the bag, 
and went through the motions of a snake in a very natural 
manner, though it appeared to be rather full in the belly ; 
opening and shutting its mouth, which I suspect was the 
performer's two hands, in the most natural way imaginable. 
The length of the creature was spun out to about fourteen 
feet ; and the color and action were well represented by a 
covering of painted cloth imitating that of the boa. After 
following the manager round the park for some time, and 
attempting to bite him, which he averted by a wave of the 
sword, a sign was made for the body of actors to come 
up. When the manager, approaching the tail, made flour- 
ishes with his sword as if hacking at that part of the body, 
the snake gasped, twisted up, and seemed as if in great 



2 1 8 STORIES OF DISCO VER Y. 

torture ; and when nearly dead it was shouldered by the 
masked actors, still making attempts to bite, but was car- 
ried off in triumph to the fetish-house. 

The third act consisted of The White Devil. The actors' 
having retired to some distance in the background, one 
of them was left in the centre, whose sack, gradually fall- 
ing down, exposed a white head, at which all the crowd 
gave a shout that rent the air ; they appeared, indeed, to 
enjoy this sight as the perfection of the actor's art. The 
whole body was at last cleared of the incumbrance of the 
sack, when it exhibited the appearance of a human figure 
cast in white wax, of the middle size, miserably thin, and 
starved, and cold. It frequently went through the motion 
of taking snuff, and rubbing its hands ; when it walked, it 
was with the most awkward gait, treading as the most ten- 
der-footed white man would do in walking barefooted for 
the first time over new-frozen ground. The spectators 
often appealed to us as to the excellence of the performance, 
and entreated I would look and be attentive to what was 
going on. I pretended to be fully as much pleased with 
this caricature of a white man as they could be, and cer- 
tainly the actor burlesqued the part to admiration. This 
being concluded, the performers all retired to the fetish- 
house. Between each act we had choral songs by the 
king's women, in which the assembled crowd joined their 
voices. . . . 

The government of Youriba is hereditary, and an abso- 
lute despotism, every subject being considered the slave 
of the king ; but its administration is mild and humane, 
and appears to have been so for a long period. The only 
distinction of rank that obtains is that of caboceer, who 
may be considered as the governor of a distant town or 
province, the appointment of these governors depending 



DEPARTURE. 219 

on the will of the king. The military force consists of the 
caboceers and their own immediate retainers, which, al- 
lowing one hundred and fifty to each, will not give such 
immense armies as we have sometimes heard stated ; that 
of Youriba is perhaps as numerous as any of the king- 
doms of Africa. 

The following day, in the afternoon, I had a visit from 
the king. I asked him why I was longer detained ; said 
I had waited with patience through the several times he 
had appointed for my starting, but it appeared I was just 
as far from getting away as ever. He hesitated, and gave 
me an evasive answer. I asked him to tell me distinctly. 
No, he could not do that, as he wished to^et me a large 
horse to ride before I went. I said I would ride a small 
one. He then said he had only one. I asked him if he 
would allow me to hire horses of the caboceers. " What," 
he replied, "will they say of me, if I allow you to go 
away in this way, after your king sending me such a pres- 
ent?" He then begged I would stop three days more, 
until he could get horses, and I should certainly go. I 
pointed out to him the number of times he had broken 
his word. He said the reason he would not fix a day now 
was that he might not break his word again. 

It was not before the 6th that the king paid me another 
visit, and told me that the Yarro messengers were ready, 
and that I might go to-morrow or next day, and that he 
intended to give me a horse. I thanked him, and told 
him I was quite ready and determined to set off to-mor- 
row, as delays here were dangerous. Accordingly, the 
next day, when everything was ready for starting, I was 
again visited by the king, who, after giving me in charge 
of what he called the Yarro messenger, told me that the 
Sultan Yarro would take the greatest care of my baggage, 



220 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

and forward me to the king of Zouri. He then made me 
a present of a horse, for which I thanked him, and took 
my leave. 

KING YARRO. 

At noon arrived at the town of Algi, which is now rising 
from its ruins, it having shared the same fate as the villages 
I had passed. The inhabitants are now returning to their 
ruined dwellings, some of which they have already repaired. 
They said they had nothing but a little grain and a few 
yams for seed ; of these they gave me part, and the best 
house in the town. The Yarro messenger had not made 
his appearance, and I now learned that Algi no longer be- 
longed to the King of Youriba, but to Yarro, the chief or 
sultan of Kiama, a petty state of the kingdom of Borgoo ; 
that Kiama was the name of the province, and Yarro the 
name of the sultan, as he is called. I gave the King of 
Youriba's brother, who commanded the escort, a fathom of 
red cloth and ten coral beads, as he is to return to Katunga 
as soon as he has seen me off from this place. 

The King of Youriba^s brother declared that he or his 
people had had nothing to eat all night, or since he had 
left Assina ; yet he got the caboceer of the place to send 
me a pig, for which I gave five coral beads. The man said 
he was ashamed to see me, as he had nothing to give me. 
Algi consists of three walled villages, and, before it was 
burnt down, had been of considerable size ; they pointed 
out a rock close to the south side of the town, from whence 
the Fellatahs flew the pigeons to set fire to it. The mode 
of doing it was by making combustibles fast to the tails of 
the birds, which, on being let loose from the hand, imme- 
diately flew to the tops of the thatched houses, while the 
Fellatahs kept up a sharp fire of arrows to prevent the in- 
habitants from extinguishing the flames. 



X. 

WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

JOHN PHELPS IS a Western boy, whose father 
has a wheat-farm in Minnesota. While his father 
and mother were in Europe, John was spending his 
winter with the Longs, and Bedford Long brought him 
to the parties at Colonel Ingham's. Colonel Ingham 
was talking to him about the acquisition, by the United 
States, of the country between the Mississippi and the 
Rocky Mountains. It was bought from Napoleon I. 
for the sum of fifteen million dollars. So little was its 
value apprehended by any of the parties to the pur- 
chase, that even Robert Livingston, the truly great man 
who had the courage to take the responsibility of buying 
it, supposed that we should make no use of the greater 
part of it. In a letter to Mr. Jefferson, who was then 
President, he said that he had already made arrange- 
ments by which another power, which would make us no 
trouble, would take it all off our hands, leaving us New 
Orleans and the mouth of the Mississippi, — which he 
thought was all we should want. In another letter, he 
says he has " told them " that we should not send a 
settler west of the Mississippi in a hundred years.^ 
But since this statement was made there have been 

1 See '' Stories of Adventure," p. 256. 



222 STORIES OF DISCOVERY . 

established the States of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, 
Wisconsin, Arkansas, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, and 
Nebraska from this territory. Our claim to the Pacific 
States comes from other sources. 

As soon as the territory was ours, Jefferson sent an 
expedition to cross to the Pacific Ocean. This was 
Lewis and Clarke's expedition, of which the young 
people had read something the year before.^ Their 
book is dull, the abridgment, as always, is more dull ; 
but there are some bright episodes. 

" There was one we used to read at school," said Un^ 
cle Fritz, " about the escape of a hunter from the Black- 
foot Indians. They do not call them Blackfoots now." 

The fur-traders from New England, and Mr. Astor 
from New York, soon obtained a foothold on the coast. 
Mr. Astor founded the fur-trading establishment which 
took the name of Astoria, at the mouth of the Colum- 
bia River. A different set of books from the United 
States Reports illustrates that sea-coast history. 

" You had one of these," Uncle Fritz said, "in Cleve- 
land's Voyages. Mr. Irving's * Astoria ' is another. 
Here are some queer pictures of coast life in this Span- 
ish exploration book. Those people went up just at 
the end of the last century." 

Mr. Irving made another entertaining book in " Cap- 
tain Bonneville's Adventures." The children had al- 
ready seen Major Long's book, and Captain Pike's.^ 
Captain Pike was afterwards killed by the explosion of 
a mine on the Canadian frontier; a very fine officer, 
whom it was a pity to lose. 

" Of the whole series," said Uncle Fritz, " none chal- 

1 See *' Stories of Adventure,'^ p. 256. 

2 *' Stories of Adventure,'' p. 257. 



TRAPPERS' LIFE. 223 

lenged more attention, or deserved it more, than * Fre- 
mont's Travels.' He made a great many discoveries, 
of which the most remarkable was that the Sacramento 
River was virtually a river of the Pacific coast, and ran 
wholly west of the Sierra Nevada. When Whitney first 
planned the railroad across, he made it run up the 
supposed valley of the Sacramento, across the Sierra 
Nevada. Fremont went across again and again, one 
winter, with terrible suffering; and it proved that there 
was no such valley there.'* 

That afternoon the children dipped at different places, 
and among other passages read these which follow. 
But in the series of a hundred or more volumes of the 
Government Reports, which Uncle Fritz showed them, 
they found many more narratives worth reading, besides 
what are copied here. 

TRAPPERS' LIFE. 

June 28. We halted to noon at an open reach of 
the river, which occupies rather more than a fourth of 
the valley, here only about four miles broad. The 
camp had been disposed with the usual precaution, 
the horses grazing at a little distance, attended by the 
guard, and we were all sitting quietly at our dinner on 
the grass, when suddenly we heard the startling cry, 
" Du monde ! " In an instant every man's weapon was 
in his hand, the horses were driven in, hobbled, and 
picketed, and horsemen were galloping at full speed in 
the direction of the new-comers, screaming and yelling 
with the wildest excitement. " Get ready, my lads ! " 
said the leader of the approaching party to his men, 
when our wild-looking horsemen were discovered bear- 



224 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

ing down upon them ; " nous allons attraper des coups de 
baguette." They proved to be a small party of fourteen, 
under the charge of a man named John Lee, and, with 
their baggage and provisions strapped to their backs, 
were making their way on foot to the frontier. A brief 
account of their fortunes will give some idea of naviga- 
tion in the Nebraska. Sixty days since, they had left 
the mouth of Laramie's Fork, some three hundred miles 
above, in barges laden with the furs of the American 
Fur Company. They started with the annual flood, 
and, drawing but nine inches water, hoped to make a 
speedy and prosperous voyage to St. Louis ; but, after 
a lapse of forty days, found themselves only one hun- 
dred and thirty miles from their point of departure. 
They came down rapidly as far as Scott's Bluffs, where 
their difficulties began. Sometimes they came upon 
places where the water was spread over a great extent, 
and here they toiled from morning until night, endeav- 
oring to drag their boat through the sands, making only 
two or three miles in as many days. Sometimes they 
would enter an arm of the river, where there appeared 
a fine channel, and, after descending prosperously for 
eight or ten miles, would come suddenly upon dry 
sands, and be compelled to return, dragging their boat 
for days against the rapid current ; and at others they 
came upon places where the water lay in holes, and, 
getting out to float off their boat, would fall into water 
up to their necks, and the next moment tumble over 
against a sand-bar. Discouraged, at length, and finding 
the Platte growing every day more shallow, they dis- 
charged the principal part of their cargoes one hundred 
and thirty miles below Fort Laramie, which they se- 
cured as well as possible, and, leaving a few men to 



LA TULIPE. 225 

guard them, attempted to continue their voyage, laden 
with some light furs and their personal baggage. After 
fifteen or twenty days more struggling in the sands, 
during which they made but one hundred and forty 
miles, they sunk their barges, made a cache of their 
remaining furs and property, in trees on the bank, and, 
packing on his back what each man could carry, had 
commenced, the day before we encountered them, their 
journey on foot to St. Louis. 

We laughed then at their forlorn and vagabond appear- 
ance, and, in our turn, a month or two afterwards, fur- 
nished the same occasion for merriment to others. Even 
their stock of tobacco, that sine qua non of a voyageur, 
without which the night fire is gloomy, was entirely ex- 
hausted. However, we shortened their homeward jour- 
ney by a small supply from our own provision. They 
gave us the welcome intelligence that the buffalo were 
abundant some two days' march in advance, and made us 
a present of some choice pieces, which were a very ac- 
ceptable change from our salt pork. In the interchange 
of news, and the renewal of old acquaintanceships, we 
found wherewithal to fill a busy hour ; then we mounted 
our horses, and they shouldered their packs, and we shook 
hands and parted. Among them, I had found an old 
companion on the northern prairie, a hardened and hardly 
served veteran of the mountains, who had been as much 
hacked and scarred as an old moustache of Napoleon's 
" old guard.'' He flourished in the sobriquet of La 
Tulipe, and his real name I never knew. Finding that he 
was going to the States only because his company was 
bound in that direction, and that he was rather more will- 
ing to return with me, I took him again into my service. 
We travelled this day but seventeen miles. 

t 



226 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

At our evening camp, about sunset, three figures w^re 
discovered approaching, which our glasses made out to 
be Indians. They proved to be Cheyennes, — two men, 
and a boy of thirteen. About a month since, they had 
left their people on the south fork of the river, some three 
hundred miles to the westward, and a party of only four 
in number had been to the Pawnee villages on a horse- 
stealing excursion, from which they were returning unsuc- 
cessful. They were miserably mounted on wild horses 
from the Arkansas plains, and had no other weapons than 
bows and long spears ; and had they been discovered by 
the Pawnees, could not by any possibility have escaped. 
They were mortified by their ill success, and said the 
Pawnees were cowards, who shut up their horses in their 
lodges at night. I invited them to supper with me, and 
Randolph and the young Cheyenne, who had been eying 
each other suspiciously and curiously, soon became inti- 
mate friends. After supper, we sat down on the grass, 
and I placed a sheet of paper between us, on which they 
traced rudely, but with a certain degree of relative truth, 
the watercourses of the country which lay between us and 
their villages, and of which I desired to have some infor- 
mation. Their companions, they told us, had taken a 
nearer route over the hills ; but they had mounted one of 
the summits to spy out the country, whence they had 
caught a glimpse of our party, and, confident of good 
treatment at the hands of the whites, hastened to join 
company. Latitude of the camp, 40° 39' 51". 



BUFFALO. 227 



A HERD OF BUFFALO. 



The air was keen the next morning at sunrise, the ther- 
mometer standing at 44°, and it was sufficiently cold to 
make overcoats very comfortable. A few miles brought 
us into the midst of the buffalo, swarming in immense 
numbers over the plains, where they had left scarcely a 
blade of grass standing. Mr. Preuss, who was sketching 
at a little distance in the rear, had at first noted them as 
large groves of timber. In the sight of such a mass of 
life, the traveller feels a strange emotion of grandeur. We 
had heard from a distance a dull and confused murmur- 
ing, and, when we came in view of their dark masses, 
there was not one among us who did not feel his heart 
beat quicker. It was the early part of the day, when the 
herds are feeding, and everywhere they were in motion. 
Here and there a huge old bull was rolling in the grass, 
and clouds of dust rose in the air from various parts of the 
bands, each the scene of some obstinate fight. Indians 
and buffalo make the poetry and life of the prairie, and 
our camp was full of their exhilaration. In place of the 
quiet monotony of the march, relieved only by the crack- 
ing of the whip, and an " Avance done ! enfant de garce ! " 
shouts and songs resounded from every part of the line, 
and our evening camp was always the commencement of 
a feast, which terminated only with our departure on the 
following morning. At any time of the night might be 
seen pieces of the most delicate and choicest meat, roast- 
ing en appolas, on sticks around the fire, and the guard 
were never without company. With pleasant weather and 
no enemy to fear, an abundance of the most excellent 
meat, and no scarcity of bread or tobacco, they were 



228 S7VRIES OF DISCOVERY, 

enjoying the oasis of a voyageur's life. Three cows were 
killed to-day. Kit Carson had shot one, and was contin- 
uing the chase in the midst of another herd, when his 
horse fell headlong, but sprang up and joined the flying 
band. Though considerably hurt, he had the good for- 
tune to break no bones ; and Maxwell, who was mounted 
on a fleet hunter, captured the runaway after a hard chase. 
He was on the point of shooting him, to avoid the loss of 
his bridle (a handsomely mounted Spanish one), when he 
found that his horse was able to come up with him. Ani- 
mals are frequently lost in this way ; and it is necessary 
to keep close watch over them, in the vicinity of the buf- 
falo, in the midst of which they scour ofl* to the plains, 
and are rarely retaken. One of our mules took a sudden 
freak into his head, and joined a neighboring band to- 
day. As we were not in a condition to lose horses, I sent 
several men in pursuit, and remained in camp, in the 
hope of recovering him ; but lost the afternoon to no 
purpose, as we did not see him again. Astronomical 
observations placed us in longitude ioo° 05' 47'', latitude 
40° 49' 55". 

A GOOD RUN. 

July i. Along our road to-day the prairie bottom was 
more elevated and dry, and the hills which border the 
right side of the river higher, and more broken and pic- 
turesque in the outline. The country, too, was better 
timbered. As we were riding quietly along the bank, a 
grand herd of buffalo, some seven or eight hundred in 
number, came crowding up from the river, where they 
had been to drink, and commenced crossing the plain 
slowly, eating as they went. The wind was favorable \ 



CHARGING THE HERD, 229 

the coolness of the morning invited to exercise ; the 
ground was apparently good, and the distance across the 
prairie (two or three miles) gave us a fine opportunity to 
charge them before they could get among the river hills. 
It was too fine a prospect for a chase, to be lost ; and, 
halting for a few moments, the hunters were brought up 
and saddled, and Kit Carson, Maxwell, and I started 
together. They were now somewhat less than half a mile 
distant, and we rode easily along until within about three 
hundred yards, when a sudden agitation, a wavering in 
the band, and a galloping to and fro of some which were 
scattered along the skirts, gave us the intimation that we 
were discovered. We started together at a hand gallop, 
riding steadily abreast of each other^ and here the inter- 
est of the chase became so engrossingly intense that we 
were sensible to nothing else. We were now closing upon 
them rapidly, and the front of the mass was already in 
rapid motion for the hills, and in a few seconds the 
movement had communicated itself to the whole herd. 

A crowd of bulls, as usual, brought up the rear, and 
every now and then some of them faced about, and then 
dashed on after the band a short distance, and turned 
and looked again, as if more than half inclined to stand 
and fight. In a few moments, however, during which we 
had been quickening our pace, the rout was universal, 
and we were going over the ground like a hurricane. 
When at about thirty yards, we gave the usual shout (the 
hunter's pas de charge) , and broke into the herd. We 
entered on the side, the mass giving way in every direc- 
tion in their heedless course. Many of the bulls, less 
active and less fleet than the cows, paying no attention to 
the ground, and occupied solely with the hunter, were 
precipitated to the earth with great force, rolling over and 



230 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

over with the violence of the shock, and hardly distin- 
guishable in the dust. We separated on entering, each 
singling out his game. 

My horse was a trained hunter, famous irj the West 
under the name of Proveau, and, with his eyes flashing, 
and the foam flying from his mouth, sprang on after the 
cow Uke a tiger. In a few moments he brought me along- 
side of her, and, rising in the stirrups, I fired at the dis- 
tance of a yard, the ball entering at the termination of the 
long hair, and passing near the heart. She fell headlong 
at the report of the gun, and, checking my horse, I looked 
around for my companions. At a little distance. Kit was 
on the ground, engaged in tying his horse to the horns 
of a cow which he was preparing to cut up. Among the 
scattered bands, at some distance below, I caught a glimpse 
of Maxwell ; and while I was looking, a light wreath of 
white smoke curled away from his gun, from which I was 
too far to hear the report. Nearer, and between me and 
the hills, towards which they were directing their course, 
was the body of the herd, and, giving my horse the rein, 
we dashed after them. A thick cloud of dust hung upon 
their rear, which filled my mouth and eyes, and nearly 
smothered me. In the midst of this I could see nothing, 
and the buflalo were not distinguishable until within thirty 
feet. They crowded together more densely still as I came 
upon them, and rushed along in such a compact body 
that I could not obtain an entrance, — the horse almost 
leaping upon them. In a few moments the mass divided 
to the right and left, the horns clattering with a noise 
heard above everything else, and my horse darted into 
the opening. Five or six bulls charged on us as we 
dashed along the line, but were left far behind; and, 
singling out a cow, I gave her my fire, but struck too 



BRADY'S ISLAND, 23 1 

high. She gave a tremendous leap, and scoured on 
swifter than before. I reined up my horse, and the band 
swept on like a torrent, and left the place quiet and clear. 
Our chase had led us into dangerous ground. A prairie- 
dog village, so thickly settled that there were three or four 
holes in every twenty yards square, occupied the whole 
bottom for nearly two miles in length. Looking around, 
I saw only one of the hunters, nearly out of sight, and the 
long dark line of our caravan crawling along, three or four 
miles distant. After a march of twenty-four miles, we 
encamped at nightfall, one mile and a half above the 
lower end of Brady's Island. The breadth of this arm of 
the river was eight hundred and eighty yards, and the 
water nowhere two feet in depth. The island bears the 
name of a man killed on this spot some years ago. His 
party had encamped here, three in company, and one of 
the number went off to hunt, leaving Brady and his com- 
panion together. These two had frequently quarrelled, 
and on the hunter's return he found Brady dead, and was 
told that he had shot himself accidentally. He was 
buried here on the bank ; but, as usual, the wolves had 
torn him out, and some human bones that were lying on 
the ground we supposed were his. Troops of wolves, 
that were hanging on the skirts of the buffalo, kept up an 
uninterrupted howling during the night, venturing almost 
into camp. In the morning they were sitting at a short 
distance, barking, and impatiently waiting our departure, 
to fall upon the bones. 



232 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 



THEY RUN A CANON. 

We re-embarked at nine o'clock, and in about twenty 
minutes reached the next canon. Landing on a rocky 
shore at its commencement, we ascended the ridge to 
reconnoitre. Portage was out of the question. So far 
as we could see, the jagged rocks pointed out the course 
of the canon on a winding line of seven or eight miles. 
It was simply a narrow, dark chasm in the rock ; and 
here the perpendicular faces were much higher than in 
the previous pass, being at this end two to three hun- 
dred, and farther down, as we afterwards ascertained, 
five hundred feet in vertical height. Our previous suc- 
cess had made us bold, and we determined again to run 
the canon. Everything was secured as firmly as possi- 
ble ; and having divested ourselves of the greater part 
of our clothing, we pushed into the stream. To save 
our chronometer from accident, Mr. Preuss took it, and 
attempted to proceed along the shore on the masses of 
rock, which in places were piled up on either side ; but, 
after he had walked about five minutes, everything Hke 
shore disappeared, and the vertical wall came squarely 
down into the water. He therefore waited until we 
came up. An ugly pass lay before us. We had made 
fast to the stern of the boat a strong rope about fifty 
feet long ; and three of the men clambered along among 
the rocks, and with this rope let her down slowly through 
the pass. In several places high rocks lay scattered 
about in the channel ; and in the narrows it required 
all our strength and skill to avoid staving the boat on 
the sharp points. In one of these, the boat proved a 
little too broad, and stuck fast for an instant, while the 



A CANON. 233 

water flew over us ; fortunately, it was but for an instant, 
as our united strength forced her immediately through. 
The water swept overboard only a sextant and a pair of 
saddlebags. I caught the sextant as it passed by me ; 
but the saddlebags became the prey of the whirlpools. 
We reached the place where Mr. Preuss was standing, 
took him on board, and, with the aid of the boat, put 
the men with the rope on the succeeding pile of rocks. 
We found this passage much worse than the previous 
one, and our position was rather a bad one. To go 
back, was impossible ; before us, the cataract was a 
sheet of foam ; and shut up in the chasm by the rocks, 
which, in some places, seemed almost to meet overhead, 
the roar of the water was deafening. We pushed off 
again ; but, after making a little distance, the force of 
the current became too great for the men on shore, and 
two of them let go the rope. Lajeunesse, the third 
man, hung on, and was jerked headforemost into the 
river from a rock about twelve feet high ; and down the 
boat shot like an arrow, Basil following us in the rapid 
current, and exerting all his strength to keep in mid- 
channel, — his head only seen occasionally like a black 
spot in the white foam. How far we went, I do not ex- 
actly know j but we succeeded in turning the boat into 
an eddy below. " 'Cre Dieu," said Basil Lajeunesse, as 
he arrived immediately after us, " Je crois bien que j'ai 
nage un demi mile.'' He had owed his life to his skill 
as a swimmer, and I determined to take him and the 
two others on board, and trust to skill and fortune to 
reach the other end in safety. We placed ourselves on 
our knees, with the short paddles in our hands, the 
most skilful boatman being at the bow ; and again we 
commenced our rapid descent. We cleared rock after 



234 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

rock, and shot past fall after fall, our little boat seeming 
to play with the cataract. We became flushed with suc- 
cess, and familiar with the danger ; and, yielding to the 
excitement of the occasion, broke forth together into a 
Canadian boat-song. Singing, or rather shouting, we 
dashed along ; and were, I believe, in the midst of the 
chorus, when the boat struck a concealed rock immedi- 
ately at the foot of a fall, which whirled her over in an 
instant. Three of my men could not swim, and my first 
feeling was to assist them, and save some of our effects ; 
but a sharp concussion or two convinced me that I had 
not yet saved myself. A few strokes brought me into 
an eddy, and I landed on a pile of rocks on the left 
side. Looking around, I saw that Mr. Preuss had 
gained the shore on the same side, about twenty yards 
below ; and a little climbing and swimming soon brought 
him to my side. On the opposite side, against the wall, 
lay the boat, bottom up ; and Lambert was in the act 
of saving Descoteaux, whom he had grasped by the 
hair, and w^ho could not swim ; " Lache pas," said he, as 
I afterward learned, " lache pas, cher frere." " Grains 
pas," was the reply, '' je m'en vais mourir avant que de 
te lacher." Such was the reply of courage and gener- 
osity in this danger. For a hundred yards below, the 
current was covered with floating books and boxes, 
bales of blankets, and scattered articles of clothing; 
and so strong and boiling was the stream that even our 
heavy instruments, which were all in cases, kept on the 
surface, and the sextant, circle, and the long black box 
of the telescope were in view at once. For a moment 
I felt somewhat disheartened. All our books, almost 
every record of the journey, our journals and regis- 
ters of astronomical and barometrical observations, 



THE WRECK, 235 

had been lost in a moment. But it was no time to in- 
dulge in regrets ; and I immediately set about endeav- 
oring to save something from the wreck. Making our- 
selves understood as well as possible by signs (for 
nothing could be heard in the roar of waters), we com- 
menced our operations. Of everything on board, the 
only article that had been saved was my double-barrelled 
gun, which Descoteaux had caught, and clung to with 
drowning tenacity. The men continued down the river 
on the left bank. Mr. Preuss and myself descended on 
the side we were on ; and Lajeunesse, with a paddle in 
his hand, jumped on the boat alone, and continued down 
the canon. She was now light, and cleared every bad 
place with much less difficulty. In a short time he was 
joined by Lambert ; and the search was continued for 
about a mile and a half, which was as far as the boat 
could proceed in the pass. 

Here the walls were about five hundred feet high, 
and the fragments of rocks from above had choked the 
river into a hollow pass, but one or two feet above the 
surface. Through this and the interstices of the rock 
the water found its way. Favored beyond our expecta- 
tions, all of our registers had been recovered, with the 
exception of one of my journals, which contained the 
notes and incidents of travel, and topographical descrip- 
tions, a number of scattered astronomical observations, 
principally meridian altitudes of the sun, and our baro- 
metrical register west of Laramie. Fortunately, our 
other journals contained duplicates of the most im- 
portant barometrical observations which had been taken 
in the mountains. These, with a few scattered notes, 
were all that had been preserved of our meteorological 
observations. In addition to these, we saved the circle ; 



236 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

and these, with a few blankets, constituted everything 
that had been rescued from the waters. 

The day was running rapidly away, and it was necessary 
to reach Goat Island, whither the party had preceded us, 
before night. In this uncertain country the traveller is 
so much in the power of chance, that we became some- 
what uneasy in regard to them. Should anything have 
occurred, in the brief interval of our separation, to pre- 
vent our rejoining them, our situation would be rather 
a desperate one. We had not a morsel of provisions, 
our arms and ammunition were gone, and we were en- 
tirely at the mercy of any straggling party of savages, 
and not a little in danger of starvation. We therefore 
set out at once in two parties, — Mr. Preuss and myself 
on the left, and the men on the opposite side of the 
river. Climbing out of the canon, we found ourselves 
in a very broken country, where we were not yet able 
to recognize any locality. In the course of our descent 
through the canon, the rock, which at the upper end was 
of the decomposing granite, changed into a varied sand- 
stone formation. The hills and points of the ridges 
were covered with fragments of a yellow sandstone, of 
which the strata were sometimes displayed in the broken 
ravines which interrupted our course, and made our 
walk extremely fatiguing. At one point of the canon 
the red argillaceous sandstone rose in a wall of five 
hundred feet, surmounted by a stratum of white sand- 
stone ; and in an opposite ravine a column of red sand- 
stone rose, in form like a steeple, about one hundred 
and fifty feet high. The scenery was extremely pic- 
turesque, and, notwithstanding our forlorn condition, 
we were frequently obliged to stop and admire it. Our 
progress was not very rapid. We had emerged from, 



'HOT SPRING GATE, 23/ 

the water half naked, and, on arriving at the top of the 
precipice, I found myself with only one moccasin. The 
fragments of rock made w^alking painful, and I was fre- 
quently obliged to stop and pull out the thorns of the 
cactus, here the prevailing plant, and with which a few 
minutes' walk covered the bottom of my feet. From 
this ridge the river emerged into a smiling prairie, and, 
descending to the bank for water, we were joined by 
Benoist. The rest of the party were out of sight, having 
taken a more inland route. We crossed the river re- 
peatedly, — sometimes able to ford it, and sometimes 
swimming, — climbed over the ridges of two more 
canons, and tovvards evening reached the cut, which w^e 
here named the Hot Spring Gate. On our previous 
visit in July we had not entered this pass, reserving 
it for our descent in the boat ; and when we entered it 
this evening Mr. Preuss was a few hundred feet in ad- 
vance. Heated with the long march, he came suddenly 
upon a fine bold spring gushing from the rock, about 
ten feet above the river. Eager to enjoy the crystal 
water, he threw himself down for a hasty draught, and 
took a mouthful of water almost boiling hot. He said 
nothing to Benoist, who laid himself down to drink ; but 
the steam from the water arrested his eagerness, and he 
escaped the hot draught. We had no thermometer to 
ascertain the temperature, but I could hold my hand in 
the water just long enough to count two seconds. There 
are eight or ten of these springs, discharging themselves 
by streams large enough to be called runs. A loud 
hollow noise was heard from the rock, which I supposed 
to be produced by the fall of the water. The strata 
immediately where they issue is a fine white and cal- 
careous sandstone, covered with an incrustation of com- 



238 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

mon salt. Leaving this Thermopylae of the West, in a 
short walk we reached the red ridge which has been 
described as lying just above Goat Island. Ascending 
this, we found some fresh tracks and a button, which 
showed that the other men had already arrived. A 
shout from the man who first reached the top of the 
ridge, responded to from below, informed us that our 
friends were all on the island ; and we were soon among 
them. We found some pieces of buffalo standing around 
the fire for us, and managed to get some dry clothes 
among the people. A sudden storm of rain drove us 
into the best shelter we could find, where we slept 
soundly, after one of the most fatiguing days I have 
ever experienced. 

THE SALT LAKE. 

September 9. The day was clear and calm ; the 
thermometer at sunrise at 49"^. As is usual with the trap- 
pers on the eve of any enterprise, our people had made 
dreams, and theirs happened to be a bad one, — one 
which always preceded evil, — and consequently they 
looked very gloomy this morning ; but we hurried 
through our breakfast, in order to make an early start, 
and have all the day before us for our adventure. The 
channel in a short distance became so shallow that our 
navigation was at an end, being merely a sheet of soft 
mud, with a few inches of water, and sometimes none 
at all, forming the low-water shore of the lake. All this 
place was absolutely covered with flocks of screaming 
plover. We took off our clothes, and, getting overboard, 
commenced dragging the boat, — making, by this opera- 
tion, a very curious trail, and a very disagreeable smell 



SALT LAKE, 239 

in Stirring up the mud, as we sank above the knee at 
every step. The water here was still fresh, with only 
an insipid and disagreeable taste, probably derived from 
the bed of fetid mud. After proceeding in this way 
about a mile, we came to a small black ridge on the 
bottom, beyond which the water became suddenly salt, 
beginning gradually to deepen, and the bottom was 
sandy and firm. It was a remarkable division, separat- 
ing the fresh water of the rivers from the briny water of 
the lake, which was entirely saturated with common 
salt. Pushing our little vessel across the narrow boun- 
dary, we sprang on board, and at length were afloat on 
the waters of the unknown sea. 

We did not steer for the mountainous islands, but 
directed our course towards a lower one, which it had 
been decided we should first visit, the summit of which 
was formed like the crater at the upper end of Bear 
River Valley. So long as we could touch the bottom 
with our paddles, we were very gay ; but gradually, as 
the water deepened, we became more still in our frail 
bateau of gum-cloth distended with air, and with pasted 
seams. Although the day was very calm, there was a 
considerable swell on the lake; and there were white 
patches of foam on the surface, which were slowly mov- 
ing to the southward, indicating the set of a current in 
that direction, and recalling the recollection of the whirl- 
pool stories. The water continued to deepen as we ad- 
vanced, the lake becoming almost transparently clear, of 
an extremely beautiful bright green color ; and the spray, 
which was thrown into the boat and over our clothes, 
was directly converted into a crust of common salt, 
which covered also our hands and arms. " Captain,^' 
said Carson, who for some time had been looking sus- 



240 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

piciously at some whitening appearances outside the 
nearest islands, "what are those yonder? — won't you 
just take a look with the glass ? " We ceased paddling 
for a moment, and found them to be the caps of the 
waves that were beginning to break under the force of 
a strong breeze that was coming up the lake. The form 
of the boat seemed to be an admirable one, and it rode 
on the waves like a water bird, but at the same time it 
was extremely slow in its progress. When we were a 
little more than half-way across the reach, two of the 
divisions between the cyUnders gave way, and it required 
the constant use of the bellows to keep in a sufficient 
quantity of air. For a long time we scarcely seemed to 
approach our island, but gradually we worked across 
the rougher sea of the open channel into the smoother 
water under the lee of the island, and began to discover 
that what we took for a long row of pelicans, ranged on 
the beach, were only low cliffs whitened with salt by the 
spray of the waves ; and about noon we reached the 
shore, the transparency of the water enabling us to see 
the bottom at a considerable depth. 

Carrying with us the barometer and other instruments, 
in the afternoon we ascended to the highest point of the 
island, — a bare, rocky peak, eight hundred feet above 
the lake. Standing on the summit, we enjoyed an ex- 
tended view of the lake, enclosed in a basin of rugged 
mountains, which sometimes left marshy flats and exten- 
sive bottoms between them and the shore, and in other 
places came directly down into the water with bold and 
precipitous bluffs. Following with our glasses the irreg- 
ular shores, we searched for some indications of a com- 
munication with other bodies of water, or the entrance 
of other rivers ; but the distance was so great that we 



SALT LAKE, 24 1 

could make out nothing with certainty. To the south- 
ward, several peninsular mountains, three thousand or 
four thousand feet high, entered the lake, appearing, so 
far as the distance and our position enabled us to deter- 
mine, to be connected by flats and low ridges, with the 
mountains in the rear. These are probably the islands 
usually indicated on maps of this region as entirely de- 
tached from the shore. At the season of high waters in 
the spring, it is probable that all the marshes and low 
grounds are overflowed, and the surface of the lake con- 
siderably greater. In several places the view was of un- 
limited extent, — here and there a rocky islet appearing 
above the water at a great distance ; and beyond, every- 
thing was vague and undefined. As we looked over the 
vast expanse of water spread out beneath us, and strained 
our eyes along the silent shores over which hung so much 
doubt and uncertainty, and which were so full of inter- 
est to us, I could hardly repress the almost irresistible 
desire to continue our exploration ; but the lengthening 
snow on the mountains was a plain indication of the 
advancing season, and our frail linen boat appeared so 
insecure that I was unwilling to trust our lives to the 
uncertainties of the lake.-^ I therefore unwillingly re- 

1 The reader must observe that this is the first careful survey of Salt 
Lake, of which the existence had been known ever since the explorations 
by Coronado described in "Stories of Adventure." The Spanish dis- 
coverers were sometimes confused when the natives spoke of this Salt Sea, 
supposing, not unnaturally, that it was the ocean. Colonel Fremont's sur- 
vey led almost directly to the colonization of this valley by the Mormons, 
who have held it ever since. The pioneer party of Mormons left Illinois 
in 1846. Their chief, Brigham Young, arrived in 1847, and the great body 
of emigrants in 1848. They have applied the Spanish customs of irriga- 
tion to the arid land, and have made it support them, quite independently 
of the outside world. The Union Pacific Railroad, however, which has a 
branch to Salt Lake City, put an end to their singular isolation. 

16 



242 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

solved to terminate our survey here, and remain satis- 
fied for the present with what we had been able to add 
to the unknown geography of the region. We felt 
pleasure also in remembering that we were the first who, 
in the traditionary annals of the country, had visited the 
islands, and broken, with the cheerful sound of human 
voices, the long solitude of the place. From the point 
where we were standing the ground fell off on every 
side to the water, giving us a perfect view of the island, 
which is twelve or thirteen miles in circumference, being 
simply a rocky hill, on which there is neither water nor 
trees of any kind ; although the Fremontia vermicularis^ 
which was in great abundance, might easily be mistaken 
for timber at a distance. The plant seemed here to 
delight in a congenial air, growing in extraordinary luxu- 
riance seven to eight feet high, and was very abundant 
on the upper parts of the island, where it was almost 
the only plant. This is eminently a saline shrub \ its 
leaves have a very salt taste, and it luxuriates in saline 
soils, where it is usually a characteristic. It is widely 
diffused over all this country. A chenopodiaceous 
shrub, which is a new species of Obione (O. rigida, Torn 
and Frem.), was equally characteristic of the lower parts 
of the island. These two are the striking plants on the 
island, and belong to a class of plants which form a 
prominent feature in the vegetation of this country. 
On the lower parts of the island, also, a prickly pear of 
very large size was frequent. On the shore, near the 
water, was a woolly species of Fhaca ; and a new species 
of umbelliferous plant (Leptotcenia) was scattered about 
in very considerable abundance. These constituted all 
the vegetation that now appeared upon the island. 
I accidentally left on the summit the brass cover to 



THE ISLAND. 243 

the object end of my spy-glass ; and as it will probably 
remain there undisturbed by Indians, it will furnish 
matter of speculation to some future traveller. In our 
excursions about the island we did not meet with any 
kind of animal ; a magpie, and another larger bird, 
probably attracted by the smoke of our fire, paid us a 
visit from the shore, and were the only hving things 
seen during our stay. The rock constituting the cliffs 
along the shore where we were encamped is a talcous 
rock, or steatite, with brown spar. 

Out of the drift-wood we made ourselves pleasant little 
lodges, open to the water, and, after having kindled large 
fires to excite the wonder of any straggling savage on the 
lake shores, lay down, for the first time in a long journey, 
in perfect security, no one thinking about his arms. The 
evening was extremely bright and pleasant ; but the wind 
rose during the night, and the waves began to break 
heavily on the shore, making our island tremble. I had 
not expected in our inland journey to hear the roar of an 
ocean surf; and the strangeness of our situation, and the 
excitement we felt in the associated interests of the place, 
made this one of the most interesting nights I remember 
during our long expedition. 

In the morning the surf was breaking heavily on the 
shore, and we were up early. The lake was dark and 
agitated, and we hurried through our scanty breakfast, and 
embarked, having first filled one of the buckets with water 
from the lake, of which it was intended to make salt. The 
sun had risen by the time we were ready to start ; and it 
was blowing a strong gale of wind, almost directly off the 
shore, and raising a considerable sea, in which our boat 
strained very much. It roughened as we got away from 
the island, and it required all the efforts of the men to 



244 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

make any head against the wind and sea ; the gale rising 
with the sun, and there was danger of being blown into 
one of the open reaches beyond the island. At the dis- 
tance of half a mile from the beach, the depth of water 
was sixteen feet, with a clay bottom ; but, as the working 
of the boat was very severe labor, and during the opera- 
tion of rounding it was necessary to cease paddling, dur- 
ing which the boat lost considerable way, I was unwilling 
to discourage the men, and reluctantly gave up my inten- 
tion of ascertaining the depth, and the character of the 
bed. There was a general shout in the boat when we 
found ourselves in one fathom, and we soon after landed 
on a low point of mud, immediately under the butte of the 
peninsula, where we unloaded the boat, and carried the 
baggage about a quarter of a mile to firmer ground. We 
arrived just in time for meridian observation, and carried 
the barometer to the summit of the butte, which is five 
hundred feet above the lake. Mr. Preuss set oif on foot 
for the camp, which was about nine miles distant ; Basil 
accompanying him, to bring back horses for the boat and 
baggage. 

The horses arrived late in the afternoon, by which time 
the gale had increased to such a height that a man could 
scarcely stand before it : and we were obliged to pack our 
baggage hastily, as the rising water of the lake had already 
reached the point where we were halted. Looking back 
as we rode off, v/e found the place of recent encampment 
entirely covered. The low plain through which we rode 
to the camp was covered with a compact growth of shrubs 
of extraordinary size and luxuriance. The soil was sandy 
and saline ; flat places, resembling the beds of ponds, that 
were bare of vegetation, and covered with powdery white 
salts, being interspersed among the shrubs. Artemisia 



CAPTAIN MARCY'S EXPEDITION, 245 

tridentata was very abundant, but the plants were princi- 
pally saline ; a large and vigorous chenopodiaceous shrub, 
five to eight feet high, being characteristic, with Fremontia 
vermicularis, and a shrubby plant which seems to be a 
new Salicornia, We reached the camp in time to escape 
a thunder-storm which blackened the sky, and were re- 
ceived with a discharge of the howitzer by the people, 
who, having been unable to see anything of us on the 
lake, had begun to feel some uneasiness. 

CAPTAIN MARCY. 

Blanche opened " Marcy's Exploration of Red River." 
This was the Upper Red River of Oklahoma. 

" Is this the gentleman they thought was dead, because 
he was gone so long ? " 

Uncle Fritz said it was. One of the school-girls had 
told Blanche about it. She knew some of General Mar- 
cy's daughters, who had told her. The children looked 
at the book eagerly to see the end, and to their great 
dehght found the account, there, of the return of the 
expedition : " We found our friends much astonished and 
delighted at our sudden appearance among them, when 
they had supposed us all massacred by the Comanches." 
But this was not the only interesting thing in this short 
report. The country, then so strange, is now the grazing- 
place of great herds of cattle. 

WATER! WATER! 

Although we were suffering most acutely from the effects 
of the nauseating and repulsive water in the river, yet we 
were still under the painful necessity of using it. Several 
of the men had been taken with violent cramps in the 



246 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

Stomach, and vomiting, yet they did not murmur ; on the 
contrary, they were cheerful, and indulged in frequent 
jokes at the expense of those who were sick. The prin- 
cipal topic of conversation with them seemed to be a dis- 
cussion of the relative merits of the different kinds of 
fancy iced drinks which could be procured in the cities, 
and the prices that could be obtained for some of them 
if they were within reach of our party. Indeed, it seems 
to me that in the officers* mess we were not entirely 
exempt from the agitation of a similar subject ; and from 
the drift of the argument, I have no doubt that a mod- 
erate quantity of Croton water, cooled with Boston ice, 
would have met with as ready a sale in our little mess 
as in almost any market that could have been found. If I 
mistake not, one of the gentlemen offered as high as two 
thousand dollars for a single bucket of the pure element ; 
but this was one of those few instances in which money 
was not sufficiently potent to obtain the object desired. 

We laid ourselves down upon our blankets, and endeav- 
ored to obliterate the sensation of thirst in the embraces 
of Morpheus ; but, so far as I was concerned, my slum- 
bers were continually disturbed by dreams, in which I 
fancied myself swallowing huge draughts of ice-water. 

THE CAVERN, HEAD OF RED RIVER. 

July i, 1852. We saddled up at a very early hour 
this morning, and proceeded on up the river for several 
miles, when we found a large affluent putting in from the 
north ; and after travelling a few miles farther, we passed 
many more small tributaries, which caused the main 
stream to contract into the narrow channel of only twenty 
feet j and its bed, which from its confluence with the Mis- 



SOURCE OF RED RIVER. 247 

sissippi to this place (with the exception of a ridge of 
rocks which crosses it near Jonesborough, in Texas) had 
been sand, suddenly changed to rock, with the water, 
which before had been turbid, flowing clear and rapidly 
over it; and, much to our delight, it was entirely free 
from salts. This was certainly an unlooked-for luxury, as 
we had everywhere before this found it exceedingly unpal- 
atable. As I before observed, the effect of this water upon 
us had been to produce sickness of the stomach attended 
with loss of appetite, and a most raging and feverish thirst, 
which constantly impelled us to drink it, although it had 
a contrary effect upon us from what we desired, increasing 
rather than allaying thirst. 

After undergoing the most intense sufferings from drink- 
ing this nauseating fluid, we indulged freely in the pure 
and delicious element as we ascended along the narrow 
dell through which the stream found its way. And, fol- 
lowing up for two miles the tortuous course of the gorge, 
we reached a point where it became so much obstructed 
with huge piles of rock that we were obliged to leave our 
animals and clamber up the remainder of the distance on 
foot. 

The gigantic escarpments of sandstone, rising to the 
giddy height of eight hundred feet upon each side, gradu- 
ally closed in until they were only a few yards apart, and 
finally united overhead, leaving a long, narrow corridor 
beneath, at the base of which the head spring of the prin- 
cipal or main branch of Red River takes its rise. This 
spring bursts out from its cavernous reservoir, and, leaping 
down over the huge masses of rock below, here commences 
its long journey to unite with other tributaries in making 
the Mississippi the noblest river in the world. 

Directly at the spring we found three small cotton- 



248 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

wood trees, one of which was blazed, and the fact of 
our having visited the place, with the date, marked 
upon it. 

On beholding this minute rivulet as it wends its tor- 
tuous course down the deep descent of the canon, it is 
difficult to realize that it forms the germ of one of the 
largest and most important rivers of America, floating 
steamers upon its bosom for nearly two thousand miles, 
and depositing an alluvion along its borders which ren- 
ders its valley unsurpassed for fertility. 

We took many copious draughts of the cool and 
refreshing water in the spring, and thereby considered 
ourselves, with the pleasure we received from the beau- 
tiful and majestic scenery around us, amply remuner- 
ated for all our fatigue and privations. The magnifi- 
cence of the views that presented themselves exceeded 
anything I had ever beheld. 

The stupendous escarpments of solid rock, rising pre- 
cipitously from the bed of the river to such a height as 
to exclude the rays of the sun, formed one of the grand- 
est and most picturesque scenes that can be imagined. 

BUFFALO CHASE. 

June 7. Taking two of the Indians this morning, I 
went out for the purpose of making an examination of 
the surrounding country, and ascertaining whether good 
water could be found upon our route for our next en- 
campment. We had gone about three miles in a west- 
erly direction, when we struck a fresh buffalo track 
leading north ; thinking we might overtake him, we fol- 
lowed up the trace until we came near the summit of 
an eminence upon the prairie, when I sent one of the 



A BUFFALO CHASE. 249 

Indians (John Bull) to the top of the hill, which was 
about one fourth of a mile distant, to look for the ani- 
mal. He had no sooner arrived at the point indicated 
than we saw him make a signal for us to join him, 
by riding around rapidly several times in a circle and 
immediately putting off at full speed over the hills. 

We set out at the same instant upon a smart gallop, 
and on reaching the crest of the hill discovered the 
terrified animal fleeing at a most furious pace, with 
John Bull in hot pursuit about five hundred yards be- 
hind him. As we followed on down the prairie, we had 
a fine view of the chase. The Delaware was mounted 
upon one of our most fractious and spirited horses, that 
had never seen a buffalo before, and on coming near 
the animal he seemed perfectly frantic with fear, mak- 
ing several desperate surges to the right and left, any 
one of which must have inevitably unseated his rider, 
had he not been a most expert and skilful horseman. 
During the time the horse was plunging and making 
such efforts to escape, John, while he controlled him 
with a masterly adroitness, seized an opportunity and 
gave the buffalo the contents of his rifle, breaking one 
of his fore-legs, and somewhat retarding his speed j he 
still kept on, however, making good running, and it 
required all the strength of our horses to bring us 
alongside of him. Before we came up our most excel- 
lent hunter, John Bull, had recharged his rifle and 
placed another ball directly back of the shoulder j but 
so tenacious of his life is this animal, that it was not 
until the other Delaware and myself arrived and gave 
him four additional shots, that we brought him to the 
ground. Packing the best pieces of the meat upon our 
horses, we went on, and in a few miles found a spring- 



250 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

brook, in which there was an abundance of good water, 
where I determined to make our next encampment. 
On our return we saw a pack of wolves, with a multi- 
tude of ravens, making merry over the carcass of the 
buffalo we had killed in the morning. 

Bob Edmeston had found traces of the Zuni Indians. 
The children had seen some of their pottery at the 
Museum. They had some vague notions of Montezuma 
and the Mexican traditions, and here were Captain 
Emory's notes of the journey which first "opened up" 
those people to the whites of the East. 

A HOUSE OF THE AZTECS. 

November io [1847]. The valley on the southern side 
of the Gila still grows wider. Away oif in that direction, 
the peaks of the Sonora Mountains just peep above 
the horizon. On the north side of the river, and a few 
miles from it, runs a low chain of serrated hills. Near 
our encampment a corresponding range draws in from 
the southeast, giving the river a bend to the north. At 
the base of this chain is a long meadow, reaching for 
many miles south, in which the Pimos graze their cattle ; 
and along the whole day's march were remains of ze- 
quias, pottery, and other evidences of a once densely 
populated country. About the time of the noon halt, 
a large pile, which seemed the work of human hands, 
was seen to the left. It was the remains of a three- 
story mud house, sixty feet square, pierced for doors 
and windows. The walls were four feet thick, and 
formed by layers of mud two feet thick. Stanly made 
an elaborate sketch of every part ; for it was, no doubt, 



CASA MONTEZUMA. 25I 

built by the same race that had once so thickly peopled 
this territory, and left behind the ruins. 

We made a long and careful search for some speci- 
mens of household furniture, or implement of art, but 
nothing was found except the corn-grinder, always met 
with among the ruins and on the plains. The marine 
shell, cut into various ornaments, was also found here, 
which showed that these people either came from the 
seacoast or trafficked there. No traces of hewn timber 
were discovered; on the contrary, the sleepers of the 
ground-floor were round and unhewn. They were burnt 
out of their seats in the wall to the depth of six inches. 
The whole interior of the house had been burnt out, 
and the walls much defaced. What was left bore marks 
of having been glazed, and on the wall in the north 
room of the second were traced the following hiero- 
glyphics. [So says Captain Emory, but these hiero- 
glyphics were unfortunately lost.] 

CASA MONTEZUMA. 

November 13 and 14. With the morning came the 
Maricopas women, dressed like the Pimos. They are 
somewhat taller, and one peculiarity struck me forcibly, 
that while the men had aquiline noses, those of the 
women were retrousses. Finding the trade in meal had 
ceased, they collected in squads about the different fires, 
and made the air ring with their jokes and merry peals 
of laughter. Mr. Bestor's spectacles were a great source 
of merriment. Some of them formed the idea that with 
their aid he could see through their cotton blankets. 
They would shrink and hide behind each other at his 
approach. At length I placed the spectacles on the 



252 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

nose of an old woman, who became acquainted with 
their use and explained it to the others. 

We were notified that a long journey was to be made 
without finding water (to cut off an elbow in the river), 
and the demand for gourds was much greater than the 
supply. One large gourd cost me four strings of glass 
beads, which was thought a high price. The interpreter 
who guided us to Casa Montezuma, on the north side 
of the Gila, said that on the Salt River, about a day's 
journey and a half, there was one of those buildings 
standing, complete in all respects except the floors and 
roof. He said it was very large, with beautiful glazed 
walls j that the footsteps of the men employed in build- 
ing the house could yet be seen in the adobe, and that 
the impression was that of a naked foot. Whenever a 
rain comes, the Indians resort to these old houses to 
look for trinkets of shells, and a peculiar green stone 
which I think is nothing more than verde antique. 

At twelve o'clock, after giving our horses a last water- 
ing, we started off in a southwestern direction to turn 
the southern foot of the range of hills pointing to the 
Salt River. Five miles brought us into a grove of the 
Cereus, which had yielded a plentiful supply of fruit to 
the Indians. Our way was over a plain of granitic sand, 
ascending gradually and almost imperceptibly. After 
leaving the Cereus, there was no growth except the 
Larrea Mexicana, and occasionally, at long intervals, 
an acacia or inga. 

We travelled till long after dark, and dropped down 
in a dust-hole near two large green-barked acacias. 
There was not a sprig of grass or a drop of water, and 
during the whole night the mules kept up a piteous cry 
for both. 



A MOCK CAPITOL. 253 

There was nothing but the offensive Larrea, which 
even mules will not touch when so hungry as to eat 
with avidity the dry twigs of all other shrubs and trees. 
As soon as the moon rose, at three a. m., the bugle 
sounded to horse, and we were up and pursuing our 
way. A little after sunrise we had passed the summit 
and were descending towards the Gila. This summit 
was formed by a range of granite hills running south- 
east, and standing in pinnacles. 

As the sun mounted, the mirage, only seen once be- 
fore since leaving the plains of Arkansas, now began to 
distort the distant mountains, which everywhere bounded 
the horizon, into many fantastic shapes. The morning 
was sharp and bracing, and I was excessively hungry, 
having given my breakfast, consisting of two biscuits, 
to my still more hungry mule. I was describing to 
Mr. Warner how much more pleasant it would be to 
be jogging into Washington after a fox-hunt, with the 
prospect of a hot breakfast, when up rose to our aston- 
ished view, on the north side of the Gila, a perfect rep- 
resentation of the Capitol, with dome, wings, and portico 
all complete. It remained for full twenty minutes with 
its proportions and outline perfect, when it dwindled 
down into a distant butte. 

We went on briskly to the Gila, whose course, marked 
by the green cottonwood, could be easily traced. It 
looked much nearer than it really was. We reached it 
after making forty miles from our camp of yesterday. 

Our poor brutes were so hungry they would drink no 
water, but fell to work on the young willows and cane. 
After letting them bite a few minutes, we moved down 
the river five miles farther, to a large and luxuriant 
patch of paspalum grass, shaded by the acacia and 
prosopis. 



254 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 



WRITINGS ON STONE. 

November i6. The valley on the south side contin- 
ues wide, and shows continuously the marks of former 
cultivation. On the north side the hills run close to 
the river. After making ten miles we came to a dry 
creek, coming from a plain reaching far to the south, 
and then we mounted the table-lands to avoid a bend 
in the river, made by a low chain of black hills coming 
in from the southeast. The table-land was strewed 
with fragments of black basalt, interspersed with agate, 
chalcedony, vitrified quartz, and carbonate of lime. 
About the summit was a mound of granite boulders, 
blackened by angite, and covered with unknown char- 
acters, the work of human hands. These have been 
copied. On the ground near by were also traces of 
some of the figures, showing some of the hieroglyphics, 
at least, to have been the work of modern Indians. 
Others were of undoubted antiquity, and the signs and 
symbols intended, doubtless, to commemorate some 
great event. One stone bore on it what might be 
taken, with a little stretch of the imagination, to be a 
mastodon, a horse, a dog, and a man. Their heads are 
turned to the east, and this may commemorate the 
passage of the aborigines of the Gila on their way 
south. 

Many of the modern symbols are in imitation of the 
antique, and, doubtless, the medicine men of the pres- 
ent day resort to this mound to invoke their unseen 
spirits, and work the miracles which enable them to 
hold their sway amongst their credulous race. There 
are many more weird and mysterious-looking places 



A FALSE ALARM. 255 

than this to be found along the banks of the Gila, and 
the first attraction to the modern Indian was, without 
doubt, the strange characters he saw described. 

Some of the boulders appear to have been written 
and rewritten upon so often that it was impossible to 
get a distinct outline of any of the characters. 

A FALSE ALARM. 

November 22. Mr. Warner and I started before the 
advance sounded, and climbed the sharp spur of a con- 
tinuous comb of mountains, coming from the southeast, 
to try if we could see the Colorado of the west. The 
mountains rose abruptly from the plains, as they mostly 
do in this region, resembling in appearance large dykes 
terminating at top in a sharp ridge which a man could, 
at any part, straddle. They were of hard granite, pep- 
per-and-salt colored, traversed by seams of white quartz. 
This spur gives the river Gila quite a bend to the north, 
and from that point to its mouth, which we reached at 
night, the river is straight in its general direction ; but 
its course is crooked and dotted with sand-bars, by in- 
cursions from the sand-hills which now flank both its 
sides. The sand is brought down by the winds from 
the valley of the Colorado. Its volume seemed, I 
think, a little diminished, probably absorbed by the 
sand. The day was warm, the dust oppressive, and the 
march, twenty-two miles, very long for our jaded and 
ill-fed brutes. The general's horse gave out, and he 
was obliged to mount his mule. 

Most of the men were on foot, and a small party, 
composed chiefly of the general and staff, were a long 
way ahead of the straggling column, when, as we ap- 



2S6 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

proached the end of our day's journey, every man was 
straightened in his saddle by our suddenly falling on a 
camp which, from the trail, we estimated at one thou- 
sand men, who must have left that morning. Specula- 
tion was rife, but we all soon settled down to the 
opinion that it was General Castro and his troops ; that 
he had succeeded in recruiting an army in Sonora, and 
was now on his return to California. Carson expressed 
the belief that he must be only ten miles below, at the 
crossing. Our force consisted of only one hundred and 
ten men. The general decided we were too few to be 
attacked, and must be the aggressive party; and if 
Castro's camp could be found, that he would attack it 
the moment night set in, and beat them before it was 
light enough to discover our force. 

The position of our camp was decided, as usual, with 
reference to the grass. The lives of our animals were 
nearly as important as our own. It was pitched to-day 
in a little hollow encircled by a chain of sand-hills over- 
grown with mezquite. The sergeant of the general's 
guard was behind, his mule having broken down ; and 
when he came in reported having seen two Indians 
about five miles back. For a short time we supposed 
this immense trail was a band of Indians returning 
from a successful marauding expedition in Sonora or 
California ; but this conjecture was soon dispelled by 
the appearance of a mounted Mexican on a sand-butte 
overlooking our camp, who, after taking a deliberate 
survey, disappeared. The camp was arranged imme- 
diately for defence, and a cordon of sentinels stationed 
on the sand-hills. The two howitzers did not arrive 
till nine o'clock ; and the officer in charge. Lieutenant 
Hammond, reported he had seen large fires to the 



FIVE HUNDREJD HORSES. 257 

right, apparently five miles distant, on the opposite 
side of the Gila. 

The general said it was necessary for him to know 
who occupied the camp, its force, character, and desti- 
nation. He ordered me to take my party and fifteen 
dragoons, for the purpose of reconnoitring. After beat- 
ing about in the mezquite for some time, we struck a 
slough of the Gila, where grew some tall willows. Up 
one of these I sent a dragoon, who saw no fire, but 
whose ears were gladdened by the neighing of horses. 
He slipped down the tree much faster than he climbed 
it, quite enchanted with the hope of exchanging his 
weary mule for a charger. Instead of reporting what 
he had seen, he exclaimed, " Yes, sir, there are enough 
for us all." — '' Did you see the fibres ? " — " No ! but 
they are all on horses ; I heard them neighing, and 
they cover much ground." He pointed in the direction, 
and after proceeding a short distance, we all heard 
distinctly the noise of the horses, indicating a large 
number. 

Silence was enjoined, and we proceeded stealthily 
along for some time, when a bright fire blazed before 
us. I halted the guard, and with two dragoons, Lon- 
deau and Martinez, proceeded unobserved until within 
a few feet of the fire. Before it stood an armed Mexi- 
can. I sent Londeau and Martinez widi orders to 
assume the occupation of trappers, and ascertain whom 
and what the man guarded. The conference was short; 
other Mexicans advanced, and I sent in man for man. 
It was not Castro, as we expected, but a party of Mexi- 
cans, with five hundred horses, from California, on their 
way to Sonora for the benefit of Castro. 

I took the four principal men to the general, and left 

17 



258 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

a guard to watch the camp and see that no attempt was 
made to escape. The men were examined separately, 
and each gave a different account of the ownership and 
destination of the horses. 

The chief of the party, a tall, venerable-looking man, 
represented himself to be a poor employe of several 
rich men engaged in supplying the Sonora market with 
horses. We subsequently learned that he was no less 
a personage than Jose Maria Leguna, a colonel in the 
Mexican service. 

WILD HORSES. 

The captured horses were all wild, and but little 
adapted for immediate service; but there was rare sport 
in catching them, and we saw for the first time the 
lazo thrown with inimitable skill. It is a saying in 
Chihuahua that " a Californian can throw the lazo as 
well with his foot as a Mexican can with his hand," and 
the scene before us gave us an idea of its truth. There 
was a wild stallion of great beauty, which defied the 
fleetest horse and the most expert rider. At length a 
boy of fourteen, a Californian, whose graceful riding 
was the constant subject of admiration, piqued by re- 
peated failures, mounted a fresh horse, and, followed 
by an Indian, launched fiercely at the stallion. 

His lariat darted from his hand with the force and 
precision of a rifle-ball, and rested on the neck of the 
fugitive ; the Indian at the same moment made a suc- 
cessful throw, but the stallion was too stout for both, 
and dashed off at full speed with both ropes flying 
in the air like wings. The perfect representation of 
Pegasus, he took a sweep, and, followed by his pursuers, 



THE LAZO, 259 

came thundering down the dry bed of the river. The 
lazos were now trailing on the ground, and the gallant 
young Spaniard, taking advantage of the circumstance, 
stooped from his flying horse and caught one in his 
hand. It was the work of a moment to make it fast to 
the pommel of his saddle, and by a short turn of his 
own horse he threw the stallion a complete somerset, 
and the game was secure. 



26o STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 



XI. 

THE ANTARCTIC CONTINENT? 

THERE is an old globe at Colonel Ingham's, made 
by Josiah Loring of Boston in 1832, and some of 
the children were turning it round and studying it, as 
the Colonel encouraged them to do, when Bedford cried 
out : " Why, Uncle, there is no Antarctic Continent 
here ! " 

"Nor anywhere else!'' said Will Withers, incredu- 
lously. 

Colonel Ingham laughed. "You must not say that 
to them." There is a barrel full of pieces of the Antarc- 
tic Continent in the Museum at Washington. Some of 
the young people had seen them there, and said so. 

"Bat what does Will mean ?" said Bedford. ''The 
Antarctic Continent is on my map at school ; that is, the 
northern and eastern sides of it are, and they are painted 
with as bright blue as any continent." 

Now it happened that the young people had just read 
the account of the return of the last great southern explor- 
ing expedition. These people also had called the land 
which was nearest to the South Pole by the convenient 
name of the Antarctic Continent. Of course no one knows 
whether it is a Continent or not unless there be some 
good telescopes on the planet Mars. Colonel Ingham 
said that in one or two afternoons they could read almost 
all that is really known about those present regions. 



THE ANTARCTIC CONTINENT 26 1 

" Really known ! '' said Will Withers scornfully, " I 
should think so ! '' 

" If you say ^really known,' Uncle Fritz, you will not 
let us read Peter Wilkins's account. I think it ought 
to be called Wilkins's Land." 

*'It says here, * Wilkes's Land,"' said EmmaFortinbras. 

^* O Emma, you are so matter-of-fact ! Now in Peter 
Wilkins it says that he landed on this great continent, 
w^hich was needed to balance North America, and then 
he had to fly away." 

The Colonel said he was afraid they must leave out 
Peter Wilkins, unless Little & Brown would print for 
them " Imaginary Voyages, told by the Imaginers." 

"Then we would count in Gulliver," said he, "for 
you remember he lighted on one of these balancing 
continents which seemed to be so necessary to keep the 
counterpoise of our heavy northern regions." 

" Uncle Fritz, did Lemuel Gulliver live in Milton ? 
When we played the Milton eleven, one of their boys 
said he did." 

"The boy was wrong," said Uncle Fritz. "It was 
Jonathan Gulliver who lived in Milton, and about whom 
Alexander Pope wrote the letter to Jonathan Swift. I 
do not think we had any Lemuel Gulliver. But Jonathan 
Gulliver was in the Massachusetts General Court about 
the time when Lemuel Gulliver was at Brobdignag, I 
believe. All this, however, as Will would say, if he 
dared, does not belong to the dignity of history. Still, 
undoubtedly all these allusions to an Antarctic Con- 
tinent, like those you have cited in Gulliver's Travels 
and in Peter Wilkins, had a good deal to do in starting 
the various expeditions that way. It was an important 
part, as you saw in one of Cook's Voyages." 



262 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

Then Colonel Ingham showed them, on a new French 
globe, the most southern point which Cook attained, and 
which Captain Furneaux, his consort, attained. "But 
they did not stumble on any land. As late as the year 
1836 Murray's Geography summed up the whole discov- 
ery of land up to that time, in this passage, which you 
may read, Fanchon.'* 

Fanchon read : — 



THE ANTARCTIC ARCHIPELAGO. 

The islands of the Southern Polar Sea, to which Mon- 
sieur Balbi gives the somewhat too pompous title of 
Antarctic Archipelago, extend chiefly southeast from 
the extremity of the American Continent. They pre- 
sent the same general character as the Arctic lands, 
with some variations. . . . 

New South Shetland, with the smaller adjoining group 
of the New Orkneys, being situated in 61° and 63° 
S. latitude, are scarcely nearer the Pole than the British 
Islands after which they are named, yet their climate is 
that of Greenland and Spitzbergen ; islands of ice are 
tossing through the seas, and the land is peopled only 
by those animal forms peculiar to the Antarctic Circle. 
These, however, since the discovery, by Captain Smith, 
of Blyth, in 18 18, have attracted numerous adventurers 
who have carried off great quantities of oil and seal- 
skins, but by their improvident pursuit have greatly 
thinned the supply. There are twelve considerable isles, 
of which the principal are named Barrow, King George, 
and Livingstone, with innumerable rocky islets. The 
land is moderately high, one peak rising to 2,500 feet, 
while elsewhere there is a volcanic cone which only rises 



DESOLA TION ISLAND. 263 

to 80 feet. Deception Isle contains a very fine harbor. 
The New Orkneys consist of a large island called Po- 
mona, or Mainland, and of many smaller ones. Farther 
to the east are a number of small islands, which, being 
at first supposed to form a continuous coast, were named 
Sandwich Land. Again, to the south of New Shetland, 
in about lat. 64°, a Russian captain, Bellinghausen, lately 
observed a range of coast, which he named Trinity Land, 
but which may probably be found to consist also of a 
cluster of islands. Two Russian frigates also, in 1829, 
penetrated to 69° S. lat, where they found two islets 
at some distance from each other, which they named 
Peter I. and Alexander I., and which form the most 
southerly spots of land yet known to exist. 

Among Antarctic islands we must also reckon Ker- 
guelen's, or Desolation, situated far to the east of those 
now described, in long. 70 E., and the moderate latitude 
of 50^. It resembles exactly New Georgia and South 
Shetland. Captain Cook's party, who carefully examined 
it, were astonished at its scanty flora, amounting only to 
sixteen species, mostly mosses and lichens; but they 
were struck by the multitude of amphibious animals with 
which its shores were peopled. This has lately attracted 
the attention of the adventurers in the southern fishery, 
who, according to Captain Weddell, have recently drawn 
from it supplies nearly as large as from New Georgia. 
We may finally mention the solitary islet of Tristan 
d'Acunha, situated to the west of the Cape of Good 
Hope, in the low latitude of 38°. By the picturesque 
description of Mr. Earle, who was driven thither by 
shipwreck, it appears indeed to contain rich pastures, on 
which European cattle thrive ; yet the bleak storms of a 
long winter, and its shores crowded with the sea elephant, 



264 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

the penguin, and the albatross, mark its affinity to the 
Antarctic regions now described. A settlement formed 
there by the English has been abandoned ; yet a very 
few individuals are still induced to reside on it by the 
facility of sustenance. 

In 183 1, Captain Biscoe fell in with land, in 66° 
S. lat. and 47° E. long., to which he gave the name of 
Enderby's Land, and which he conceives to be of con- 
siderable extent. In the following year he touched 
upon another coast of uncertain extent, in about the 
same latitude, and in long. 70° W. To this latter tract 
has been given the name of Graham's Land. 

" You will see," said Uncle Fritz, " that Cook almost 
struck Enderby's Land, which is not far east of the 
meridian of the Cape of Good Hope. Here, to the 
south of South America, is Palmer's Land and the little 
islands Peter and Alexander, if islands they be. In the 
winter of 1839-40, our Captain Wilkes, whose name you 
found, Emma, after his explorations in the Pacific, made 
a dash with his squadron to the south of New Holland. 
He was rewarded by frequent sight of the ice-bound 
shores of what we call the Antarctic Continent. He 
sailed along this coast for nearly sixty degrees of longi- 
tude, keeping very near the Antarctic Circle all the way. 
Once and again he sent his boats to icebergs which had 
earth and rocks upon them. These are the specimens 
of the Antarctic Continent which you have seen at 
Washington. But he found no place where they could 
land on the continent itself. 

"Wilkes reports that he regards his discovery as made 
on the 1 6th of January, 1840. On the afternoon of the 
19th of January, 1840, Dumont d'Urville, the com- 



COAST OF ADELIE, 26$ 

mander of a French expedition, made the land near the 
meridian of 130°. Wilkes afterward passed the same 
place. D'Urville called it the coast of ' Adelie/ out of 
compliment to his wife. The next winter Captain James 
Ross and Captain Crozier, in the 'Erebus' and 'Terror,' 
the same ships which were afterwards lost with Franklin, 
made a dash south from the Auckland Islands on or 
near the meridian of 170°. He found no ice-pack where 
Wilkes and D'Urville had struck it the year before, and 
was able to make the high southern latitude of 78^ 4', 
on the 23d of January. He had discovered land on 
the nth of January, in latitude 70° 41', and longitude 
172° 39'. During the period between he had coasted 
the eastern face of this land and had observed a mag- 
nificent volcano, which he named Mount Erebus, while 
to a lesser, extinct crater, he gave the name of his other 
ship, and called it Mount Terror. 

" These three expeditions discovered and reported all 
that is known of the Antarctic Continent. It is said 
of it, — as you have said, Will, — that no living plant, 
even a plate of lichen, has been found which grew on 
these dismal shores. D'Urville caught some penguins at 
Adelie. Our Mr. Eld caught one with thirty-two stones 
in his craw. 

" You will not find it hard to read in Captain 
Wilkes's narrative all that he tells of the land itself. 
Ross made a landing on a small island, and ' took pos- 
session' in the name of Queen Victoria. But, like 
Wilkes and D'Urville, he was unable to find any place 
where he could land upon the continent." 



266 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 



APPEARANCES OF LAND.i 

On this day [i6th of January] appearances be- 
lieved at the time to be land were visible from all the 
three vessels, and the comparison of the three obser- 
vations when taken in connection with the more posi- 
tive proof of its existence, afterwards obtained, has left 
no doubt that the appearance was not deceptive. From 
this day, therefore, we date the discovery which is 
claimed for the squadron. 

On board the " Peacock " it appears that Passed Mid- 
shipmen Eld and Reynolds both saw the land from 
the mast-head, and reported it to Captain Hudson ; he 
was well satisfied, on examination, that the appearance 
w^as totally distinct from that of ice islands, and a ma- 
jority of the officers and men were also satisfied that 
if land could exist that was it. 

On board the "Porpoise" Lieutenant Commandant 
Ringold states that " he went aloft in the afternoon, the 
weather being clear and fine, the horizon good, and 
clouds lofty j that he saw over the field-ice an object, 
large, dark, rounding, resembling a mountain in the 
distance ; the icebergs were all light and brilliant, and 
in great contrast.'' He goes on to say in his report : 
" I watched for an hour to see if the sun in his decline 
would change the color of the object ; it remained the 
same, with a white cloud above, similar to that hovering 
over high land. At sunset the appearance remained 
the same. I took the bearings accuratel}^, intending to 
examine it closely as soon as we got a breeze. I am 

1 From Wilkes's Narrative. 



DISTANT MOUNTAINS. 26/ 

thoroughly of opinion that it is an island surrounded by 
immense fields of ice." 

In Passed Midshipman Eld's journal he says that 
he had been several times to the mast-head during 
the day, to view the barrier ; that it was not only a 
barrier of ice, but one of terra firma. Passed Midship- 
man Reynolds and himself exclaimed, with one accord, 
that it was land. Not trusting to the naked eye, they 
descended for spy-glasses, which confirmed beyond a 
doubt their first impressions. The mountains could be 
distinctly seen, over the field-ice and bergs, stretching to 
the southwest as far as anything could be discovered. 
Two peaks in particular were very distinct (which I 
have named after these two officers), rising in a coni- 
cal form ; and others, the lower parts of which were 
quite as distinct, but whose summits were lost in light 
fleecy clouds. The sun shone brightly upon ridge after 
ridge whose-sides were partially bare. These connected 
the eminences I have just spoken of, which must be 
from one to two thousand feet high. Mr. Eld further 
states that on reporting the discovery to Captain Hud- 
son, the latter replied that there was no doubt of it ; 
and that he believed that most of the icebergs then in 
sight were aground. . . . 

January i8. The weather this day was variable, 
with light westerly winds ; the temperature of air and 
water 32°. Occasional squalls of snow and mist oc- 
curred, but it was at times clear. The water was still 
olive-green ; and the other vessels occasionally in sight, 
beating to windward. 

On the morning of the 19th we found ourselves in a 
deep bay, and discovered the '* Peacock " standing to 
the southwest. Until eight o'clock a. m. we had a 



268 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

moderate breeze. The water was of a darker olive- 
green, and had a muddy appearance. Land was now 
certainly visible from the " Vincennes," both to the south- 
southeast and southwest, in the former direction most 
distinctly. Both appeared high. It was between eight 
and nine in the morning when I was fully satisfied that 
it was certainly land, and my own opinion was confirmed 
by that of some of the oldest and most experienced sea- 
men on board. The officer of the morning watch, Lieu- 
tenant Alden, sent twice and called my attention to it. 
We were at this time in longitude 154° 30' E., latitude 
66° 20' S. ; the day was fine, and at times quite clear, 
with light winds. After divine service I still saw the out- 
line of the land, unchanged in form but not so distinct 
as in the morning. By noon I found we were sagging 
on to the barrier ; the boats were lowered in conse- 
quence, and the ship towed off. The report from aloft 
was, "A continued barrier of ice around the bay, and 
no opening to be seen, having the western point of it 
bearing to the northward of west of us." I stood ^o 
the westward to pass around it, fully assured that the 
" Peacock '' would explore all the outline of the bay. 

The "Peacock," at 3 h. 30m., according to Captain 
Hudson's journal, having got into the drift-ice, with a 
barrier still ahead to the west, tacked to the southeast 
to work up for an immense mass, which had every ap- 
pearance of land, and which was believed to be such 
by all on board. It was seen far beyond and towering 
above an ice-island that was from one hundred and fifty 
to two hundred feet in height. It bore from them about 
southwest,^ and had the appearance of being three thou- 

1 Sketches of this land will be seen in Wilkes's atlas on the chart of Ant- 
arctic Continent. 



BLOCKED BY ICEBERGS. 269 

sand feet in height, forming a sort of amphitheatre, look- 
ing gray and dark, and divided into two distinct ridges 
or elevations throughout its entire extent, the whole 
being covered with snow. As there was no probability 
of getting nearer to it in this quarter, they stood out of 
the bay, which was about twenty miles deep, to proceed 
to the westward, hoping to get an opportunity to ap- 
proach the object more closely on the other side. 

A MOUNTAIN RANGE. 

On the morning of the 30th of January the sun rose 
in great brilliancy, and the scene could hardly be real- 
ized as the same as that we had passed through only 
twenty-four hours before. All was now quiet ; a brisk 
breeze blew from the eastward, all sail was set, and 
there was every prospect that we might accomplish our 
object ; for the land was in sight, and the icebergs 
seemed floating in quiet. We wound our way through 
them in a sea so smooth that a yawl might have passed 
over it in safety. No straight line could have been 
drawn from us, in any direction, that would not have 
cut a dozen icebergs in the same number of miles ; and 
the wondering exclamations of the officers and crew were 
oft repeated, — '^ How could we have passed through 
them unharmed ? '' and ''' What a lucky ship ! " At 
eight o'clock we had reached the icy barrier, and hove 
to close to it. It was tantalizing, with the land in 
sight, to be again and again blocked out. Open water 
was seen near the land to the southwest of us, and a 
tortuous channel through the broken ice to leeward, 
apparently leading to it. All sail was immediately 
crowded; we passed rapidly through, and found our- 



270 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

selves again in clear water, which reached to the shores, 
the barrier extending in a line with our course about 
two miles to windward, and a clear channel to the 
northwest, about ten miles wide, as far as the eye could 
reach. Seeing this, I remarked to one of the officers 
that it would have been a good place to drift in during 
the last gale, Uttle thinking that in a few short hours 
it would serve us for that purpose, in still greater need. 
A brisk gale ensued, and the ship ran at the rate of 
nine or ten miles an hour; one reef was taken in the 
topsails, and we stood directly in for the most southerly 
part of the bay. 

This bay was formed partly by ice islands. The 
latter were aground, and on the western side of the 
bay extended about five miles to the northward of our 
position. 

While we stood on in this direction the gale in- 
creased, and our room became so circumscribed that 
we had not time on any one tack to reduce our can- 
vas, before it became necessary to go about. In this 
way we approached within half a mile of the dark 
volcanic rocks which appeared on both sides of us, 
and saw the land gradually rising beyond the ice to 
the height of three thousand feet, and entirely covered 
with snow. It could be distinctly seen extending to 
the east and west of our position fully sixty miles. I 
make this bay in longitude 140° 2' 30'' E., latitude 
66° 45' S. ; and, now that ali were convinced of its ex- 
istence, I gave the land the name of the Antarctic Con- 
tinent. Some of the officers pointed out the appearance 
of smoke, as if from a volcano, but I was of opinion 
that this was nothing but the snow-drift, caused by the 
heavy squalls. There was too much wind at this time 



FINER* S BAY, 27 1 

to tack ; I therefore had recourse to luffing the vessel 
up in the wind, and wore her short round on her heel. 
At the same time we sounded, and found a hard bottom 
at the depth of no more than thirty fathoms. I made 
a rough sketch of this bay, which I have called Piner's 
Bay, after the signal quartermaster of that name. It was 
impossible to lower a boat or to remain longer ; indeed, 
I felt it imperative on me to clear its confined space 
before the floating ice might close it up. 

ICY CLIFFS. 

The weather now moderated, and I ordered sail to be 
made. The 2d of February found us about sixty miles 
to the westward of Finer' s Bay, steering to the south- 
ward, and as usual among ice islands with the land in 
sight. The land had the same lofty appearance as be- 
fore. We stood in until three p. m., when we were within 
two and a half miles of the icy cliffs by which the land 
was bounded on all sides. These were from one hun- 
dred and fifty to two hundred feet in height, quite per- 
pendicular, and there was no appearance whatever of 
rocks ; all was covered with ice and snow. A short 
distance from us to the westward was a long range 
of icebergs aground, which, contrary to the usual ap- 
pearance, looked much weather-beaten. We tried for 
soundings, but did not get any with one hundred and 
fifty fathoms, although the water was much discolored. 
The badness of the deep sea-line was a great annoy- 
ance to us, for deeper soundings would probably have 
obtained bottom. No break in the icy barrier, where a 
foot could be set on the rocks, was observable from 
aloft. The land still trended to the westward as far as 



2^2 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

the eye could reach, and continued to exhibit the same 
character as before. Our longitude now was 137° 2' E., 
latitude 66^ 12' S. ; we found magnetic declination 
westerly. 

CAPE CARR. 

On the 7th of February we had much better weather, 
and continued all day running along the perpendicular 
icy barrier, about one hundred and fifty feet in height. 
Beyond it the outline of the high land could be well 
distinguished. At six p. m. we suddenly found the bar- 
rier trending to the southward, and the sea studded 
with icebergs. I now hauled off until daylight, in order 
to ascertain the trending of the land more exactly. I 
place this point, which I have named Cape Carr, after 
the first lieutenant of the "Vincennes/* in longitude 
131° 40' E., and latitude 64° 49' S. 

On the 8th, at daylight, we again made sail to the 
southward, and found at four a. m. the field of ice had 
stopped our progress, and the weather was thick. Land 
was no longer seen to the south, a deep bay apparently 
making in. We continued our course to the westward 
along the barrier, until eight p. m., when we were again 
brought to. At seven p. m. we had strong indications 
of land j the barrier was of the former perpendicular 
form, and later the outline of the continent appeared 
distinct though distant. The night was dark and un- 
pleasant. At noon our longitude was 127° 7' E., and 
latitude 65^ 3' S. ; variation 14° 30' westerly. 



A SIGHT OF LAND. 273 



A LANDING EFFECTED. 

During the 12th of February we had pleasant weather, 
and at two a. m. filled away. At eight a. m. land was 
reported to the southwest. Keeping along the barrier 
and increasing our latitude, I again had hopes of get- 
ting near the land. We passed through great quan- 
tities of large floe-ice until one p. m., when the solid 
barrier prevented our further progress. Land was now 
distinctly seen, from eighteen to twenty miles distant, 
bearing from southeast to southwest, — a lofty mountain 
range, covered with snow, though showing many ridges 
and indentations. I laid the ship to for three hours, in 
hopes of discovering some opening or movement in the 
ice, but none was experienced. I tried the current, but 
found none. The water was of a dirty dark green. We 
sounded with the wire-line in two hundred and fifty 
fathoms, and found no bottom. The temperature at 
that depth was 3o|-°, of the air 31°. The barrier had 
in places the appearance of being broken up, and we 
had decreased our longitude to 112° 16' 12'' E., while 
our latitude was 64° 67' S. This puts the land in about 
65^ 20' S., and its trending nearly east and west. The 
line of the icy barrier was generally uniform, although 
it was occasionally pierced by deep bays. We saw 
some icebergs with decided spots of earth on them, 
which gave me hopes of yet obtaining the objects of 
my wishes. The water was remarkably smooth during 
this day, and the weather clear, enabling us to see a 
great distance. Two hours after we bore away we left 
the floe-ice, and entered a clear sea to the westward, 
where we lost sight of the barrier for a time ; but in 

18 



274 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

hauling up to the southwest, it was, by eight p. m., 
within three miles of us, when we again kept off, paral- 
lel to its trending. The appearance of land still con- 
tinued. Shortly after, I hove to, for the purpose of 
awaiting the daylight to continue our observations of 
the land, with little prospect or probability of reaching 
it, from the immense quantity of ice which continued to 
form an impenetrable barrier. 

13th. At two A. M. we made sail to the southwest, 
in order to close with the barrier, which we found re- 
treated in that direction, and gave us every prospect of 
getting nearer to it. Our course, for the most part, was 
through icebergs of tabular form. In the afternoon we 
had the land ahead, and stood in for it with a light 
breeze until 6| p. m., when I judged it to be ten or 
twelve miles distant. It was very distinct, and ex- 
tended from west-southwest to south-southeast. We 
were now in longitude 106° 40' E., and latitude 65° 57' 
S. j the variation was 54° 30' westerly. The water was 
very green. We sounded in three hundred fathoms, and 
found no bottom. The weather having an unsettled ap- 
pearance, we stood off to seek a clearer space for the 
night. The land left was high, rounded, and covered 
with snow, resembling that first discovered, and had the 
appearance of being bound by perpendicular icy cliffs. 

14th. At daylight we again made sail for land, beating 
in for it until eleven a. m., when we found any further 
progress quite impossible. I then judged that it was 
seven or eight miles distant. The day was remarkably 
clear, and the land very distinct. By measurement, we 
made the extent of the coast of the Antarctic Continent, 
which was then in sight, seventy-five miles, and, by ap- 
proximate measurement, three thousand feet high. It 



SPECIMENS OF ROCKS, 



275 



was entirely covered with snow. Longitude at noon, 
106° 18' 42'' K, latitude 65° 59' 40'' S., variation 57° 5' 
westerly. On running in, we had passed several ice- 
bergs greatly discolored with earth, and finding we 
could not approach the shore any nearer, I deter- 
mined to land on the largest ice island that seemed 
accessible, to make dip, intensity, and variation obser- 
vations. On coming up with it, about one and a half 
miles from where the barrier had stopped us, I hove 
the ship to, lowered the boats, and fortunately effected 
a landing. We found embedded in it, in places, bould- 
ers, stones, gravel, sand, mud, or clay. The larger 
specimens were of red sandstone and basalt. No signs 
of stratification were to be seen in it, but it was in 
places formed of icy conglomerate (if I may use the 
expression), composed of large pieces of rocks, as it 
were frozen together, and the ice was extremely hard 
and flint-like. The largest boulder embedded in it was 
about five or six feet in diameter, but, being situated 
under the shelf of the iceberg, we were not able to 
get at it. Many specimens were obtained, and it was 
amusing to see the eagerness and desire of all hands 
to possess themselves of a piece of the Antarctic Con- 
tinent. These pieces were in great demand during the 
remainder of the cruise. In the centre of this iceberg 
was found a pond of most delicious water, over which 
was a scum of ice about ten inches thick. We obtained 
from it about five hundred gallons. We remained upon 
this iceberg several hours, and the men amused them- 
selves to their hearts* content in sliding. The pond was 
three feet deep, extending over an area of an acre, and 
contained sufiicient water for half a dozen ships. The 
temperature of the water was 31°. This island had been 



2/6 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

undoubtedly turned partly over, and had precisely the 
same appearance that the icy barrier would have ex- 
hibited if it had been turned bottom up and subsequently 
much worn by storms. There was no doubt that it had 
been detached from the land, which was about eight 
miles distant. 

Around the iceberg we found many species of zoo- 
phytes, namely, salpee, a beautiful specimen of clio 
helicina, some large pelagic, and many small Crustacea. 
This day, notwithstanding our disappointment in being 
still repelled from treading on the new continent, was 
spent with much gratification, and gave us many new 
specimens from it. 

A DEEP BAY. 

On the xyth, about ten a. m., we discovered the barrier 
extending in a line ahead, and running north and south 
as far as the eye could reach. Appearances of land 
were also seen to the southwest, and its trending seemed 
to be to the northward. We were thus cut off from 
any further progress to the westward, and obliged to 
retrace our steps. The position of the ice disappointed 
me, although it concurred with what was reasonably to 
be expected. We were now in longitude 97*^ 37' E., and 
latitude 64^ i' S. ; our variation was 56° 21' westerly, 
being again on the decrease. To-day we had several 
snow-squalls, which, instead of being in flakes, was in 
small grains, as round as shot, and of various sizes, 
from that of mustard-seed to buckshot. It was re- 
markably dry, pure white, and not at all like hail. We 
found the bay we had entered was fifty or sixty miles 
in depth ; and, having run in on its southern side, I 



THE ''PORPOISE'S'' SPECIMENS. 2// 

determined to run along its northern shore, which we 
set about with much anxiety, as the weather began to 
change for the worse. Our situation was by no means 
such as I should have chosen to encounter bad weather 
in, the bay being sprinkled with a great many large ice- 
bergs. Here we met with a large number of whales, 
whose curiosity seemed awakened by our presence. 
Their proximity, however^ was anything but pleasant 
to us, and their blowings resembled that of a number 
of locomotives. Their close approach was a convinc- 
ing proof that they had never been exposed to the pur- 
suit of their skilful hunters. They were of the fin-back 
species, and of extraordinary size. 

MORE PIECES OF LAND. 

During the morning of February 12th the ** Porpoise '* 
was running along fields of ice, with a breeze from the 
southward ; weather overcast ; discovered a large piece 
of ice of a dark brown color floating by, resembling a 
piece of dead coral ; lay to, and sent a boat to bring it 
alongside ; obtained from it several pieces of granite and 
red clay, which were frozen in; the ice was extremely 
hard and compact, composed of alternate layers of ice 
and snow; the strata of snow were filled with sand. 
The icebergs near at the time presented signs of having 
been detached from land, being discolored by sand and 
mud. A number of white procellaria were obtained. 
The ice islands again appeared in great numbers. At 
three p, m. hauled up, steering westerly into a very deep 
inlet or gulf, formed by extensive fields of ice. Be- 
lieving, from the indications of the morning, that land 
could not be far off, in approaching the head of this 



278 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

inlet, several icebergs had the appearance of being in 
contact with the land, having assumed a dark color from 
the clay and sand blown upon them ; the whole group 
around seemed as if in the vicinage of land ; sounded 
with two hundred fathoms; no bottom; also tried the 
current, but found none. Towards night, it becoming 
thick with snow, they continued under snug sail, in- 
tending to examine more closely the barrier and inlets 
in the morning. 

After reading these passages from Commodore Wilkes, 
the children listened to D'Urville's narrative of ^' Adelie," 
Marian translating at sight quite successfully. 

D'URVILLE'S DISCOVERY. 

''We had often been greatly misled by deceptive 
appearances of land, so that we had become generally 
very doubtful and a little incredulous on this point. 
Nevertheless, in the evening (of the 19th) a long dark 
line, low, uniform, and trending from the south to the 
west-southwest, called and fixed my attention by its 
permanence, as well as the constancy of its color and 
its form. It remained when the sun set, during his 
absence, and at his rising. At length I was convinced 
that the land was before me, and it became more evi- 
dent as we approached. I held my conviction the 
more, that a number of persons did not partake in it. 
[He was right in his conviction, as Captain Wilkes 
proved, in passing the same coast.] 

" Unhappily, the 20th, which gratified us with a sky 
remarkably clear and beautiful for these climates, did 
not bring to us a breath of wind. We remained fixed 
in one place, experiencing the punishment of Tantalus, 



AMONG ICEBERGS. 2/9 

in the sight of that land which excited our lively curi- 
osity. . . . 

"The 2 1 St, at one in the morning, I took advantage 
of a pleasant little breeze from the southeast, to sail to 
the south-southwest towards the land. To attain it, 
we had to pass for some distance through an immense 
chain of enormous flat icebergs, I sought for the most 
open and least dangerous channel, and from two to six 
o'clock our corvettes passed quietly along in these sin- 
gular straits. Sometimes the channels were not more 
than two or three cable-lengths in breadth, and then 
our vessels appeared buried under these glittering walls 
of a hundred or a hundred and fifty feet in height, whose 
enormous mass seemed ready to annihilate us. Then, 
the channel suddenly opening, we would pass at once 
into the largest basins, surrounded by icebergs of singu- 
lar and fantastic forms, which presented the most won- 
derful appearance, and involuntarily recalled the palaces 
of crystal and diamonds so common in fairy tales. 

"A clear sky, a pleasant day, a delightful breeze, 
favored us wonderfully in this bold navigation. At 
length we left these winding and narrow channels, — 
the high sides of which had for a long time deprived 
us of our view of the land, — and found ourselves in a 
place comparatively free, whence we could examine the 
coast in all its visible extent. Distant about eight or 
ten miles, there was a long line of land extending as 
far as the eye could reach from south-southeast to west- 
southwest, two or three hundred toises high, entirely 
covered with ice or snow, which rendered the summit 
completely level, though the ravines on the sides re- 
mained uncovered, like the capes on the shore." 

Good observations at noon gave the situation of the 



28o STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

vessels as 66^ 30' south latitude, and 139'' 41' east 
longitude from Greenwich. Hoping to come nearer 
the south magnetic pole, they attempted to find it by 
going farther west. At this point, after some search, 
they obtained some specimens of granite which were 
left uncovered by the snow and ice. Here it was also 
that they caught some penguins, and Monsieur Dumou- 
tier found some fragments of a sea-weed thrown up on 
the rocks. These were the only " living things " they 
found. The land was named " Adelie." " The name 
is destined to perpetuate the memory of my profound 
attachment to the devoted companion who has thrice 
consented to a long and painful separation, to permit 
me to accomplish my plans of distant discovery." 

These voyages were in 1840. Captain Ross made 
his successful push in 1841. 

CAPTAIN JAMES ROSS'S NARRATIVE. 

Under all circumstances, it appeared to me that it 
would conduce more to the advancement of science, for 
which this expedition has been more specially set forth, 
as well as for the extension of our geographical knowl- 
edge of the Antarctic regions, to endeavor to penetrate 
to the southward, or about the 170th degree of east 
longitude, by which the isodynamic oval ^ and the point 
exactly between the two foci ^ of greater magnetic inten- 
sity might be passed over and determined, and directly 
between the tracks of the Russian navigator, Bellings- 

1 These phrases refer to the magnetic observations, in which Captain 
Ross had taken great interest. He had approached, more nearly than any 
man, the northern magnetic pole, " perhaps within a mile of it " ; as near 
as instruments would show the place. 



ENTER THE ANTARCTIC CIRCLE. 28 1 

hausen, and our own Captain James Cook ; and after 
entering the Antarctic Circle, to steer southwesterly 
towards the pole, rather than attempt to approach it 
directly from the north in the unsuccessful footsteps of 
my predecessor. 

Accordingly, on leaving Auckland Islands, on the 
1 2 th of December, we proceeded to the southward, 
touching for a few days at Campbell Island, for mag- 
netic purposes ; and after passing amongst many ice- 
bergs to the southward of 63° S. latitude, we made the 
pack-edge, and entered the Antarctic Circle on the ist of 
January, 1841. 

This pack presented none of those formidable char- 
acters which I had been led to expect from the accounts 
of the American and French ; but the circumstances 
were sufficiently unfavorable to deter me from entering 
it at this time, and a gale from the northward inter- 
rupted our operations for three or four days. 

On the 5th of January we again made the pack about 
one hundred miles to eastward in latitude 66° 45' S., 
and longitude 174° 16' E. ; and although the wind was 
blowing directly on it, with a high sea running, we 
succeeded in entering it without either of the ships sus- 
taining any injury ; and after penetrating a few miles 
we were enabled to make our way to the southward 
with comparative ease and safety. 

On the following three or four days our progress 
was rendered more difficult and tedious by thick fogs, 
light winds, a heavy swell, and almost constant snow- 
showers ; but a strong water-sky to the southeast, which 
was seen at every interval of clear weather, encouraged 
us to persevere in that direction, and on the morning 
of the 9th, after sailing more than two hundred miles 



282 STORIES OF DISCOVERY, 

through this pack, we gained a perfectly clear sea, and 
bore away southeast towards the magnetic pole. 

On the morning of the nth of January, when in lati- 
tude 70° 41' S., and longitude 172° 39', E. land was dis- 
covered at the distance, as it afterwards proved, of 
nearly a hundred miles directly in the course we were 
steering, and therefore between us and the pole. 

Although this circumstance was viewed at the time 
with considerable regret, as being likely to defeat one of 
the more important objects of the expedition, yet it re- 
stored to England the honor of the discovery of the 
southernmost known land, which had been nobly won, 
and for more than twenty years possessed, by Russia. 

Continuing our course towards this land for many 
hours, we seemed scarcely to approach it. It rose in 
lofty mountainous peaks of from nine to twelve thou- 
sand feet in height, perfectly covered with ieternal snow ; 
the glaciers, that descended from the mountain summit, 
projected many miles into the ocean, and presented a 
perpendicular face of lofty cliffs. As we neared the 
land, some exposed patches of rock appeared; and, 
steering towards a small bay for the purpose of effect- 
ing a landing, we found the shore so thickly lined for 
some miles with bergs and back ice, and a heavy swell 
dashing against it, that we were obliged to abandon our 
purpose, and steer towards a more promising looking 
point to the south, off which we observed several small 
islands; and on the morning of the 12th I landed, 
accompanied by Commander Crozier and a number of 
the officers of each ship, and took possession of the 
country in the name of Her Most Gracious Majesty, 
Queen Victoria. 

The island on which we landed is composed wholly 



MOUNT EREBUS, 283 

of igneous rocks, numerous specimens of which, with 
other embedded minerals, were procured. It is in lati- 
tude 71° 56' S., and longitude 171° 7' E. 

Observing that the east coast of the main land 
trended to the southward, whilst the north shore took 
a northwesterly direction, I was led to hope that by 
penetrating to the south as far as practicable it might 
be possible to pass beyond the magnetic pole, which our 
combined observations placed in 76° nearly, and thence, 
by steering westward, complete its circumnavigation. 
We accordingly pursued our course along this mag- 
nificent land, and on the 23d of January we reached 
74° 15' S., the highest southern latitude that had ever 
been attained by any preceding navigators, and that by 
our own countryman. Captain J. Weddell. 

Although greatly impeded by strong southerly gales, 
thick fogs, constant snow-storms, we continued the ex- 
amination of the coast to the southward, and on the 
27th we again landed on an island in latitude 76° 8' S., 
and longitude 168° 12' E., composed, as on the former 
occasion, entirely of igneous rocks. 

Still steering to the southward, early the next morn- 
ing a mountain, of 12,400 feet above the level of the 
sea, was seen emitting flame and smoke in splendid 
profusion. 

This magnificent volcano received the name of Mount 
Erebus. It is in latitude 77° 32' S., and longitude 
167° E. 

An extinct crater to the eastward of Mount Erebus, 
of somewhat less elevation, was called Mount Terror. 

The mainland preserved its southerly trending, and 
we continued to follow it until, in the afternoon, when 
close in with the land, our further progress in that direc- 



284 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

tion was prevented by a barrier of ice, stretching away 
from a projecting cape of the coast directly to the 
E. S. E. 

This extraordinary barrier presented a perpendicu^ 
lar face of at least 150 feet, rising, of course, far above 
the mast-heads of our ships, and completely concealing 
from our view everything beyond it, except only the 
tops of a range of very lofty mountains in a S. S. E. 
direction, and in latitude 79° S. 

Pursuing the examination of this splendid barrier to 
the eastward, we reached the latitude of 78° 4' S., the 
highest we were at any time able to attain, on the 2d of 
February; and having on the 9th traced its continuity 
to the longitude of 190° 23' in latitude 78° S., a distance 
of more than three hundred miles, our further progress 
was prevented by a heavy pack, pressed closely against 
the barrier ; and the narrow lane of water, by means of 
which we had penetrated thus far, became so completely 
covered by rapidly forming ice, that nothing but the 
strong breeze, with which we were favored, enabled us 
to retrace our steps. When at a distance of less than 
half a mile from its lofty icy cliffs, we had soundings 
with three hundred and eighteen fathoms on a bed of 
soft blue mud. 

With a temperature of 20° below the freezing point, 
we found the ice to form so rapidly on the surface that, 
any further examination of the barrier in so extremely 
severe a period of the season being impracticable, we 
stood away to the westward for the purpose of making 
another attempt to approach the magnetic pole, and 
again reached its latitude, 76° S., on the 15th of Febru- 
ary ; and, although we found that much of the heavy ice 
had drifted away since our former attempt, and its place, 



NEAREST APPROACH TO THE POLE, 285 

in a great measure, supplied by recent ice, yet we made 
some way through it, and got a few miles nearer to that 
pole than we had before been able to accomplish, when 
the heavy pack again frustrated all our efforts, com- 
pletely filling the space of fifteen or sixteen miles be- 
tween us and the shore. We were this time in latitude 
76° 12' S., and longitude 164°, the dip being ZZ"" 40', and 
variation 109° 24' E. We were, of course, 160 miles 
from the magnetic pole. 

Had it been possible to have approached any part 
of this coast, and to have found a place of security for 
the ships, we might have travelled this short distance 
over the land ; but this proved to be utterly impracti- 
cable ; and although our hopes of complete attainment 
have not been realized, it is some satisfaction to feel 
assured that we have approached the magnetic pole 
more nearly by some hundreds of miles than any of our 
predecessors, and from the multitude of observations 
that have been made in both ships, and in so many 
different directions from it, its position can be deter- 
mined with nearly as much accuracy as if we had 
actually reached the spot. 

It had ever been an object of anxious desire with us 
to find a harbor for the ships, so as to enable us to 
make simultaneous observations with the numerous ob- 
servations that would be at work on the important 
term-day of the 28th of February, as well as for other 
scientific purposes ; but every part of the coast where 
indentations appeared, and where harbors on other 
shores usually occur, we found so perfectly filled with 
perennial ice of many hundred feet in thickness, that 
all our endeavors to find a place of shelter for our 
vessels were quite unavailing. 



286 STORIES OF DISCOVERY. 

Having now completed all that it appeared to me 
possible to accomplish in so high a latitude, at so ad- 
vanced a period of the season, and desirous to obtain 
as much information as possible of the extent and form 
of the coast we had discovered, as also to guide, in 
some measure, our future operations, I bore away on 
the 1 8th of February for the north part of this land, and 
which by favor of a strong southerly gale we reached on 
the morning of the 21st. 

We again endeavored to effect a landing on this 
part of the coast, and were again defeated in our at- 
tempt by the heavy pack, which extended for many 
miles from the shore, and rendered it impossible. 

For several days we continued to examine the coast 
to the westward, tracing the pack edge along, until on 
the 25th of February we found the land abruptly ter- 
minate, in latitude 70° 40' S., and longitude 165° E., 
trending considerably to the southward of west, and 
presenting to our view an immense space occupied by 
the newly formed ice, and so covered by recent snow as 
to present the appearance of one unbroken mass, and 
defying every attempt to penetrate it. 

The great southern land we have discovered, and 
whose continuity we have traced from nearly the 70th to 
the 79th degree of latitude, I am desirous to distinguish 
by the name of our Most Gracious Sovereign, Queen 
Victoria. 

It was as Colonel Ingham had foreseen ; this was 
the last reading for the winter. There had been one 
and another interruption, so that this afternoon was one 
of those April days when there is some little hope that 
spring will come. That hope was fulfilled. The next 



TITLE OF NEXT VOLUME. 28/ 

Wednesday Colonel Ingham received a box of May- 
flowers from Oliver Garner by mail; and at once he 
sent round a bended bow, and the young people joined 
him on Saturday, not for adventures in Polar ice, but to 
hunt for Trailing Arbutus at Little Crastis. And before 
another Saturday he was on his way to Spain. 



INDEX. 



Adelie Land, 265, 280. 

Adventures, Captain Bonneville's, 
222. 

Africa, explorations in, 188-220; 
equatorial table-land of, compared 
with more northern latitudes, 201. 

African Exploration Society, 193. 

America, early maps of, 107. 

Antarctic Archipelago, 262, 263, 
264. 

Antarctic Continent, discoverer of, 
8, 260; archipelago of, 262; ap- 
pearances of land, 266; icebergs, 
269; icy cliffs, 271; Cape Carr, 
272; a landing effected, 273; 
specimens of rocks, 275; D'Ur- 
ville's discovery, 278. 

Atlantic Coast, discovery of, 107. 

Baker, Sir Samuel W., 199. 
Banks, Sir Joseph, 154, 157, 159, 

160, 163, 165. 
Barmga, Lake, 198. 
Barrow, Sir James, 168. 
Barrow, Sir John, 168. 
Behring's Strait, 168. 
Bethencourt, Jean de, 35. 
Bounty, Cape, 176. 
Bruce, James, 190; 191-194. 
Buffalo, 227. 
Buffalo-chase, a, 248. 
Burton, Lieutenant, 193, 194, 
Byron, Admiral, 147, 148. 

Cabot, Sebastian, Sy^ 107. 
Canary Islands, 13, 17, 35, 



Caiion, running a, 232; geologic 

formation of, 236. 
Cape of Good Hope, 36 ; discovery 

of, 39; 40,44, 82. 
Cape Verd Islands, 25; discovery 

of, 35; 83. 

Carson, Kit, 228, 229, 230, 239, 256. 

Cartagena, Juan de, 69, 70, 72. 

Carteret, Captain Philip, 148 ; voy- 
age of , 149. 

Casa Montezuma, 251-253. 

Castro, General, 256, 257. 

Charles v. of Spain, 61, 67, 68, 6g» 

Chili, 92. 

Circumnavigation of the globe, 84. 

Coello, Nicolas, 44, 45, 48, 52, 53,55. 

Columbus, Christopher, 8, 9 ; first 
voyage of, 10 ; object of voyage, 
10; sails from Palos, 11; events 
of first days, 11, 12; refits at the 
Canaries, 13; account of voyage, 
13; signs of land, 14; landing at 
Guanahani, 15 ; first impressions 
of the Indians, 15, 16; appear- 
ance of the West Indies, 18, 19; 
the search for Cuba, 20, 21 ; 
Martin Pinzon's desertion, 22, 
23; third voyage of Columbus, 
24, 25 ; Trinidad discovered, 26 ; 
speculations of Columbus, 28, 29, 
30, 31, 32 33* 62. 

China, 60. 

Cipango, 20. 

Clapperton, Captain Hugh, 205. 

Cook, Captain James, 148, 261, 262, 
264. 



19 



290 



INDEX. 



** Cook's Voyages," extract from, 

152. 
Coronado, 241, footnote, 
Corrientes, Cape, 42. 
Cuba, 20; search for, 21, 22. 

Dahomey, 209. 

Decker, Baron von, 195. 

Diaz, Bartholomew, 36, "^Z^ 39. 

Drake, Sir Francis, 86, Z^'.^ com- 
mission of, 89; sails from Ply- 
mouth, 90 ; Hakluyt accounts of 
Drake's voyage in Pacific, 91- 
106, 146. 

Dumont D*Urville, 264, 265, 278, 
279, 280. 

Eld, Mount, 266, 267. 
Elizabeth's Isle, 129. 
Erebus, Mount, 283. 
Europa, 9, 

Falkland Islands, 147. 
Fletcher, Francis, notes of, 87-90. 
Franklin, Sir John, 168, 169. 
Fremont, Colonel John, 223, 241. 
" Fremont's Travels," 223, 
Fremontia, 242, 245. 

Gama, Paulo da, 47, 48, 53, 56. 

Gama, Vasco da, 34, 35, -^"j ; chosen 
to find water-route to East Indies, 
39; sights Cape of Good Hope, 
40; explores coast of Natal, 
41; Land of Good People, 42; 
Melinda, 43, 44; reaches Zanzi- 
bar, 44; return of Da Gama, 
45 ; Hakluyt account of the voy- 
age, 46-58. 

" General History of Virginia," 127. 

Geographical Society of England, 

193- 
Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 119; last 

voyage of, 120-126; death of, 

126. 
Gosnold, Bartholomew, 127, 133, 
Guadaloupe, 133. 
Guadalquivir, 27. 



Guanahani, 15. 

Guatulco, 94, 103. 

Gulf of Guinea, discovery of, 36. 

Hakluyt Society, publications of, 

45 ; extracts from, 46, 91. 
Hearne, Samuel, 176. 
Henry, Cape, 133. 
Henry of Portugal, 35; motto of, 

35» 36. 
Hawkins, Capt. John, 86. 
Hispaniola, 23, 25. 
Huelva, 30, 31. 
Hunt, Robert, 132. 

Indians, 15 ; appearance of, 16; 17, 
loi, 102; in Massachusetts, 128, 
129, 130, 131; in Virginia, 134, 
135, 136-144,226; Zuni Indians, 
250. 

Isabella of Spain, 10, 11, 31, 33. 

Jamestown, first settlement of, 
131-136; colony, government of, 

T^ZZ^ 134- 
Japan, 20, 59. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 221, 222, 
John II. of Portugal, 36, 38, 61. 

Karagw^, 196. 

Kilimi Njaro, ascent of, 195. 

Kittara, people of, 197. 

La Tulipe, 225. 
Lewis and Clark, expedition of, 222. 
Livingstone, David, 191. 
Livingston, Robert, 221 ; letter of, 

to Thomas Jefferson, 221. 
Louisiana Purchase, 221; states 

made from this territory, 222. 

Madeiras, discovery of, 35. 

Magellan, 59, 60; birthplace of , 60; 
early history, 60; conceives of 
western route to East Indies, 60 ; 
is repulsed by King of Portugal, 
61 ; offers services to Charles V. 
of Spain, 61 ; sails for Brazil, 61 ; 
suppresses mutiny, 61, 70, 71, 72 ; 



INDEX, 



291 



account of voyage, by a Genoese 
pilot, 62-73 ; death of Magellan, 
76; the voyage home, 73-85; the 
earth circumnavigated, 84, ^^\ 
146. 

Magellan, Strait of, 102, 103. 

Magnetic Poles, 171, 172, 283. 

Marchena, Juan Perez de, 31, 32. 

Martha's Vineyard, 127, 128. 

Massachusetts, coast of explored, 
127-131. 

Matavai, 152-155. 

McClure, Robert, 168, 

Mediterranean, 59. 

Melinda, King of, 44. 

Melville Islands, 178. 

Mendoga, Luis, 65, 69, 71. 

Mirage, 253. 

Moluccas, the 'j'jy 95. 

Monrovia, 203. 

Montezuma, 250. 

Nansen, Captain Fridtjof, 187. 

Natal, 41. 

Navarrete, 8. 

Negroes, 35, slave-trade introduced 

into Portugal, 35. 
New Georgia, 186, 263. 
New Orkneys, 262, 263. 
New Orleans, 221. 
New South Shetland, 262. 
New South Wales, landing in, 161. 
New Zealand, landing in, 1 56-161. 
Newport, Christopher, 132, 133, 

134, 135. 136. 
Niger, mouth of, 202. 
Nile, source of, 188-201 ; tributaries 

of, 200; Nile region, temperature 

of, 201. 
North Georgian Gazette, 186. 
North Georgian Islands, 186. 
Northwest Passage, 167-169. 
Nyanza, Albert, 189. 
Nyanza, Victoria, 189, 194. 
Nyassa, Lake, 194. 

Oklahoma, 245. 
Oregon, Zt* 



Pacific Ocean, 59 ; Drake's voy- 
age in, 91-106; 145, 146, 147. 

Pacific States, 222. 

Palos, II, 30, 31. 

Parry, Captain Edward, 168, 169, 
186. 

Peary, Lieutenant Robert, 187. 

Philippine Islands, 62. 

Pike, Captain Zebulon, 222. 

Pinta, the, 12, 13, 22, 23. 

Pinzon, Martin Alonzo, 12, 15, 22, 

23, 24. 
Pinzon, Vincent, 15, 24. 
Pocahontas, 143, 44, 
Powhatan, 134, 142, 143. 
Prince Regent's Inlet, discovery of, 

174. 
Providence, Cape, 184. 

Quesada, Gaspar de, 65, 69, 70. 

Rabida, Convent of, 29, 31, 
Red River, 246. 
Rhodes, Cecil, 189, 202. 
Rodriguez, Arthur, 55, 56. 
Ross, Captain James, 265 ; narra- 
tive of, 280. 

Sahara, 202. 

Salt Lake, 238, 239, 240 ; first sur- 
vey of, 241. 

San Francisco, Bay of, 87. 

San Salvador, 22. 

Silva, Nunoda, 100, 103. 

Smith, Captain John, 131, 132, 
133 ; explores Virginia, 134 ; con- 
spiracy against, 135, 136 ; is 
taken prisoner by Indians, 137, 
138, 139, 140 ; his life saved by 
Pocahontas, 143 ; further adven- 
tures of, 143, 144. 

Snowy Mountains, 195. 

Solander, Doctor Daniel Charles, 
154, 157, i59> 165. 

South America, discovery of, 27. 

South Sea Company, 146, 147. 

Speke, Lieutenant John Hanning, 
I93» i94> i95t 196, 197, 198, 200. 



292 



INDEX. 



Stanley, Sir Henry M., 191. 
St. Helena, Bay of, 40. 
Sverdrup, Otto Neumann, 187. 

Tahiti, 148. 

Terrestrial Paradise, 28, 29. 
Trappers' Life, 223. 
Trinidad, discovery of, 26 ; appear- 
ance of, 27. 
Tupia, 159, 160, 161, 162. 

Uganda, 196; natives of, 196. 

Valparaiso, 92. 

Verrazzano, 108; first discoverer 

of Atlantic Coast, 108; letter of, 

1 08-119. 
Virginia, General History of, by 

Captain John Smith, 127, 



Wallis, Captain Samuel, 148, 153. 

West Indies, 133. 

White Devil, The, pantomime of, 

218. 
Wilkes, Captain Charles, 8, 264, 

265. 
Wingfield, Edward, 132, 134. 
Winter Harbor, 184-187. 
Writings on stone, 254. 

Yarro, King, 220. 

Young, Brigham, 241. 

Youriba, King of, 206-215; cus- 
toms and laws of Kingdom, 214, 
216, 217, 218. 

Zanzibar, 44. 
Zuni Indians, 250. 



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